[Download the PDF Call for Papers]
Based on official statistics, the world's population is aging rapidly and this trend will increase the incidence rate of movement disorders. Improving medical care is likely to increase survival rates and reduce hospital costs. However, it will result in even more patients in need of Assistance, Rehabilitation and Assessment (ARA) services. Patients with age-related movement disorders typically experience permanent or long-lasting disabilities and often require labor-intensive ARA services as early as possible and for extended periods. The result is that, with a system that is under-resourced, more patients are sent home while still suffering from major functional deficits. One potential solution is to develop smart mechatronic technologies that (a) provide safe, optimal, smart, effective and affordable means of neurorehabilitation; and (b) assist and assess patients in performing activities of daily living. Bio-signal processing is considered as the heart of modern mechatronic and robotic technologies, designed for delivering appropriate ARA services. Advanced and real-time processing of physiological signals (such as: EEG, EMG, eye gaze, body movements, and speech) can open new doors to not only enhance the effectiveness of mechatronic rehabilitation, assistive and assessment systems, but also to enable alternative treatments for patients who cannot use conventional technologies and techniques due to the severity of their condition. In this regard, the objective of this symposium is to bring together new techniques/technologies that augment the capabilities of conventional neurorehabilitation, assistive and assessment systems using signal processing solutions.
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network
Biography
Milos R. Popovic received his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada in 1996, and the Dipl. Electrical Engineer degree from the University of Belgrade, Serbia in 1990.
Dr. Popovic is the Associate Scientific Director at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - University Health Network and the Toronto Rehab Chair in Spinal Cord Injury Research. He is also a Professor (Tenured) in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, as well as Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Popovic is also the founder and director of the CenteR for Advancing Neurotechnological Innovation to Application (CRANIA) at the University of Toronto and University Health Network.
Dr. Popovic’s fields of expertise are functional electrical stimulation, neuroprostheses, neuro-rehabilitation, neuromodulation, brain machine interfaces, physiological control systems, assistive technology, modeling and control of linear and non-linear dynamic systems, robotics, and signal processing.
In 1997, together with Dr. Keller, he received the Swiss National Science Foundation Technology Transfer Award - 1st place. In 2008, Dr. Popovic was awarded the Engineering Medal for Research and Development from the Professional Engineers of Ontario, and Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. In 2011, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. In 2012, company MyndTec Inc., which Dr. Popovic co-founded in 2008, won the 1st Prize and the Best Intellectual Property Award at the annual TiEQuest Business Venture Competition. In 2013, he received the Morris (Mickey) Milner Award for outstanding contributions in the area of Assistive Technologies from the Health Technology Exchange. Also, in 2013, together with Drs. Prodic, Lehn, and Huerta-Olivares, and Mr. Tarulli, Dr. Popovic received the University of Toronto Inventor of the Year Award. In 2015, Dr. Popovic received the 2014 University Health Network’s Inventor of the Year Award. In 2017, he received the Accessibility Innovation Showcase and Tech Pitch Competition Award at the Ontario Centers of Excellence Discovery 2017 Conference.
Dr. Popovic is the co-founder and co-chair of the Canadian National Spinal Cord Injury Conference established in 2004.
Submissions are welcome on topics including:
Prospective authors are invited to submit full-length papers (up to 4 pages for technical content, an optional 5th page containing only references) and extended abstracts (up to 2 pages, for paperless industry presentations and Ongoing Work presentations). Manuscripts should be original (not submitted/published anywhere else) and written in accordance with the standard IEEE double-column paper template. Accepted full-length papers will be indexed on IEEE Xplore. Accepted abstracts will not be indexed in IEEE Xplore, however the abstracts and/or the presentations will be included in the IEEE SPS SigPort. Accepted papers and abstracts will be scheduled in lecture and poster sessions. Submission is through the GlobalSIP website at http://2017.ieeeglobalsip.org/Papers.asp.
Notice: The IEEE Signal Processing Society enforces a “no-show” policy. Any accepted paper included in the final program is expected to have at least one author or qualified proxy attend and present the paper at the conference. Authors of the accepted papers included in the final program who do not attend the conference will be subscribed to a “No-Show List”, compiled by the Society. The “no-show” papers will not be published by IEEE on IEEEXplore or other public access forums, but these papers will be distributed as part of the on-site electronic proceedings and the copyright of these papers will belong to the IEEE.
| Paper Submission Deadline | June 2, 2017 |
| Review Results Announced | July 17, 2017 |
| Camera-Ready Papers Due | August 5, 2017 |
Arash Mohammadi, Concordia University
Rajni V. Patel, Western University
Mahdi Tavakoli, University of Alberta
S. Farokh Atashzar, Western University
Mahya Shahbazi, Western University