The Real State-of-The-Evidence in Pediatric Rehabilitation with James Sulzer

James S. Sulzer PhD

Staff Scientist and Associate Professor

of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

James Sultzer is an academic neurorehabilitation engineer and a father to a child with a significant brain injury. This conversation is a raw look at the real state of the evidence in pediatric neurodisability. James takes us through his lived experience of having to make incredibly difficult decisions as he sought out the best care for his daughter. We cover the value of goal setting and home programs all the way to trying to pick out the fraud and the pseudoscience from the cutting-edge therapies that give us hope.

This is a profoundly important conversation that is a must-listen for everyone working with families who have children with disabilities.

I know you'll get a lot out of it.

Enjoy!

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—Scroll down to the podcast player to listen or find us on Spotify, iTunes or Stitcher.

For handy links to things we've discussed in this interview,  scroll down to the Resources Section at the bottom of the page.

Listen, enjoy, share...

Podcast Highlights

• 04:16 minutes-  Exoskeleton Research and Spasticity

• 14:58 minutes- Goal Setting

  • 47:13 minutes- The Importance of Realistic Goals

  • 50:24 minutes- Goals and motivation

• 16:51 minutes- The brilliance of pediatric therapists

• 17:56 minutes- Therapy Intensity and Home Programs

• 18:56 minutes-  Multi-Disciplinary Teams

• 20:41 minutes- The impact of School on therapy

• 21:10 minutes-  Therapy in real life

• 23:01 minutes- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

• 26:56 minutes- Challenges in Pediatric TBI Research

  •   28:11 minutes- Making sense of research

  •   41:51 minutes- The Role of Peer-Reviewed Research

• 31:16 minutes- Evaluating Therapy Effectiveness

• 35:52 minutes- High Tech vs. Low Tech in Rehab

• 38:37 minutes-Evaluating New Medical Devices and Therapies

  • 39:35 minutes- Understanding Medical Fraud and Clinical Trials

  • 40:44 minutes- Challenges in Making Medical Decisions

• 52:32 minutes-  Engineers as part of the therapy team

• 57:54 minutes-   Advice for Caregivers and Clinicians

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Biography

Dr. James Sulzer is a Staff Scientist at MetroHealth Hospital and an Associate Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. His research primarily focuses on improving mobility for individuals who have experienced stroke, utilizing innovative technologies such as robotic exoskeletons, electrical stimulation, and wearable sensors.

Dr. Sulzer's educational background includes a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University, and his MS and PhD, also in Mechanical Engineering, from Northwestern University and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, now known as the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Before joining MetroHealth and Case Western, he was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Additionally, Dr. Sulzer is a member of the United Cerebral Palsy National Research Council and a Board member of an adaptive toy organization in Northeast Ohio, RePlay for Kids.

Dr. Sulzer's publications cover a range of topics, including:

1. Robotics and Walking Exoskeletons: Dr. Sulzer has developed robotics for walking intended to help those with stroke improve mobility.

2. Neurophysiology: Dr. Sulzer has explored the neurophysiological properties of people with stroke during walking.

3. Wearable sensing: Dr. Sulzer uses wearable sensors to track the dosage of therapy in order to help determine what regimens are associated with better recovery.

4. Neurofeedback and Real-time fMRI: His work explores how neurofeedback can help individuals self-regulate brain activity. For example, his research on neurofeedback-mediated self-regulation of the dopaminergic midbrain shows potential applications in treating neurological and psychiatric conditions.

For more detailed information on his work and publications, visit his Google Scholar Profile or  (Neurotree).

LINKS

• James Sulzer Linkedin

• Dr. Sulzer's and his wife Lindsay's academic article on caregiving and technology for the home

• Article in The Atlantic on the Sulzer family

• The Experiment Podcast on the Sulzer family

• STAT News article by Dr. Sulzer on the importance of lived experience in rehabilitation research

• First Opinion Podcast: Why rehabilitation engineers need to listen to patients and their families
  

Mentions:

• Locomat

• HBOT-The Efficacy of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: Literature Review and Clinical Guidelines

• Novak’s Traffic Lights

• VitalStim

• Interview with Cole Galloway

• Puma

• Discussion of GBG on FB group

• F-words - Interview with Prof Rosenbaum

• Neurofeedback-mediated self-regulation of the dopaminergic midbrain

• CBG Café -Go baby go café: a case study on an immersive rehabilitation environment to improve functional outcomes and quality of life.

Here's a snapshot of the Early Therapy Home Program we disused in the interview:

Watch the full presentation here 👇