WFNR Webinar

Gait Rehabilitation: From Neuroscience to Robotics

Wednesday, 18 November, 2 pm BST

This is a free event.

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Walking is among the most fundamental and complex acts of human motor behaviour. Its loss — partial or complete — represents one of the most disabling consequences of neurological disorders, affecting independence, quality of life, and social participation.

Neuroplasticity research has opened new therapeutic avenues over the past decades, demonstrating that the nervous system retains significant capacity for reorganisation. Simultaneously, advances in robotics and wearable technologies are reshaping rehabilitation, enabling high-intensity and high dosed interventions that were unthinkable a generation ago.

Neurological disorders affect millions of people across Europe and worldwide, with impaired gait among the most prevalent and functionally limiting sequelae. Despite considerable progress in acute care, a large proportion of patients continue to experience chronic walking deficits, underscoring the urgent need for more effective, scalable, and evidence-based rehabilitation strategies. Bridging the gap between laboratory discoveries and real-world clinical practice remains one of the central challenges — and opportunities — of contemporary neurorehabilitation.

This webinar brings together three leading European experts to offer a comprehensive perspective on gait rehabilitation: from the underlying neuroscientific mechanisms that govern locomotion recovery, through established clinical techniques, to the most recent advances in robotic and assistive technologies designed for lower-limb rehabilitation.

15.00-15.15
The neuroscientific bases of gait and locomotion recovery – Prof. Ann Hallemans, University of Antwerp

15.15- 15.30
Standard techniques for gait rehabilitation – Prof. Peter Feys, University of Hasselt

15.30-15.45
Robotic-assisted rehabilitation technologies for lower limbs – Prof. Alessandra Del Felice, University of Padova

15.45-16.00 Q&A