Mushahwar Vivian K

Dr. Vivian Mushahwar is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta and a Canada Research Chair in Functional Restoration. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She is also the Director of the Sensory Motor Adaptive Rehabilitation Technology (SMART) Network and Smart Technology (ST) Innovations at the University of Alberta. Her work focuses on developing intelligent wearable and implantable neural prostheses that restore mobility and prevent secondary complications. She also focuses on developing creative rehabilitation interventions that are both efficacious and cost-saving. Her group pioneered the development of micro-implants for stimulating the spinal cord to restore standing and walking after paralysis, and demonstrated that simultaneous arm and leg cycling activity-based therapy can be more efficacious that current interventions for improving mobility. Her group also developed the wearable garments, Smart-e-Pants and the SOCC, for preventing pressure injuries and deep vein thrombosis.