RESNA hitches ride

ARLINGTON, Va. – RESNA is taking advantage of RehabWeek’s return to North America to co-locate its own conference at the event. 

RehabWeek will take place May 12-16 in Chicago, drawing about 2,000 attendees. The RESNA conference will take place May 13-15. 

“It’s an international conference that moves around the world,” said Andrea Van Hook, executive director of RESNA. “In 2023, it was in Singapore. RESNA participated in a similar way in 2019, when it was in North America, in Toronto. It’s really the Olympics for rehab.” 

RehabWeek brings together different societies and organizations in the field of rehab technology at the same time and place to foster cross-disciplinary communication and relationships. RESNA will be one of eight participating organizations there. 

Attendees of RESNA’s conference can expect the usual blend of educational sessions, Developer’s Showcase, student competitions and scientific paper platforms and posters, but as part of RehabWeek, they’ll also have the opportunity to dive into the larger world of rehab. 

“They’re going to find everything RESNA is known for – the practical assistive technology products that help people at home, work and school – but they’ll also hear a lot about things like brain computer interfaces and exoskeletons,” Van Hook said. 

RESNA will encourage its attendees to interact with, in particular, the International Consortium on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), which contributes to and promotes collaborative research in the areas of robotics and advanced technologies as applied to health care, specifically rehabilitation, therapy and functional independence. 

“What we’re noticing is a trend – keep in mind that RESNA is small – of more and more robotics and robotic technology,” Van Hook said. “Robotics is being added and applied all over the place, also in wheelchairs. It’s a growing part of the field.” 

For its conference, RESNA will focus on themes like translating research into practice, examining the ethics of AI and adapting assistive technology for play and recreation. 

“Based on our last conference, there is a lot of interest in, for example, video gaming,” Van Hook said.  

The other societies at RehabWeek: The International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society, The International Society in Advanced Rehabiltiation Technology, the International Society for Virtual Rehabilitation, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, Motus Academy and Masterclass in Neurotechnology. 

Registration for the event opens Nov. 29.