Technology for Rehabilitation and Independent Function

Dr. Naomi Gefen

Deputy Director General of ALYN Hospital since 2012, responsible for allied health clinical services.

The Technology for Rehabilitation and Independent Function department examines various technologies used in rehabilitation, both in the hospital and at home, to promote independent performance for children and adolescents.

In addition to technologies, the team assesses clinical protocols and evaluations to help develop a comprehensive and evidence-based toolbox for therapists to use in the dynamic field of pediatric rehabilitation. They collaborate with key stakeholders – including technology innovators, entrepreneurs, clinicians, children and their families – to evaluate the efficacy of different solutions.

In many cases, a participatory design approach is employed to identify and develop the most beneficial technologies. Independent seating and mobility, powered mobility, new evaluations and protocols, voice activation, upper extremity robotics and gamified rehabilitation equipment are just some examples of technologies this domain covers.

Shoshana Steinhart

Occupational Therapist and ALYN PARC Research Assistant

Shoshana has been an occupational therapist at ALYN since 2000. She is part of the multidisciplinary team in the Brain Injury Clinic, and coordinator of the Student Fieldwork Program for the Department of Occupational Therapy Department at ALYN.

Shani Raz Silbiger

Occupational Therapist and ALYN PARC Research Assistant

Shani is an occupational therapist at ALYN’s Rehabilitation Educational & Day Care Center, working with children with complex disabilities. She is part of the multidisciplinary team in the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Clinic and PELE, an innovation arena at ALYN developing customized solutions for children with disabilities.

Abigail Haimosky

Occupational Therapist and ALYN PARC Research Assistant

Abigail has been an occupational therapist at ALYN’s Rehabilitation Educational & Day Care Center since 2010, specializing in assistive technology and powered mobility.

Dr. Lori Rosenberg

Occupational Therapist and ALYN PARC Research Associate

Dr. Rosenberg is an occupational therapist with 30 years of experience. Head of occupational therapy at Ilanot, a special education school for children with physical disabilities, and lecturer at the School of Occupational Therapy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Eliel Rothe

Research Coordinator

Eliel is the research coordinator for Dr. Naomi Gefen's studies. He is a pediatric intensive care nurse at the Tel Aviv Medical Center and teaching assistant for research methods at the Shamir Hospital Nursing School.

BCI 4 Kids Calgary

Providing access to brain-computer interface technology for children with severe neurological disabilities in Canada. Team members include Erica Danielle Floreani, Danette Rowley, Eli Kinney-Lang and Dr. Adam Kirton

Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital

Standardizing oculomotor assessment in neurorehabilitation. Researchers include Elizabeth Dannenbaum and Prof. Joyce Fung.

Gravity Rehabilitation

Founded by Laurent Gosselin and Dr. Karl-Emanuel Dionne, Gravity Rehabilitation is a platform made for the creation, validation and clinical authoring of digital rehabilitation therapies.

Prof. Philippe Archambault PhD, OT

Philippe is a professor at the School of Physical & Occupational Therapy, McGill University and Co-Scientific Director of the Centre de Recherche.

Dr. Tal Krasovsky

Tal is a senior Lecturer at the Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa, and a research consultant at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.

Gefen, N., & Rosenberg, L. (2022). Development of a new tool: progression of paediatric powered mobility-3PM. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1-9.

Gefen, N., Andrea Nadai, M. H. P., & Little, S. (2021). Clinical Guidelines: Using a Head Support in Wheelchairs. Internal Document- Headovations.com

Gefen, N., Steinhart, S., Beeri, M., & Weiss, P. L. (2021). Lessons learned during a naturalistic study of online treatment for pediatric rehabilitation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12), 6659.

Gefen, N. , Kitsony R., Gafni-Lachter, L., Nisan, Y., Grinblat, N., et al. (2020) Policy paper: Online therapy in Occupational therapy. Israeli Journal of Occupational Therapy, 29(3), 1-22. (In Hebrew).

Gefen, N., Archambault, P. S., Rigbi, A., & Weiss, P. L. (2022). Pediatric powered mobility training: powered wheelchair versus simulator-based practice. Assistive Technology, 1-10.

Gefen, N., Rigbi, A., Archambault, P. S., & Weiss, P. L. (2021). Comparing children’s driving abilities in physical and virtual environments. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 16(6), 653-660.

Gefen, N. (2020). Who sets the goals in pediatric rehabilitation?. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 62(4), 410-410.

Gefen, N. , Rigbi, A. & Weiss, P. L., (2019). Predictive model of proficiency in powered mobility of children and young adults with motor impairments. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 61(12), 1416-1422.

June 2022- European and Eastern Mediterranean Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (EEMCPDM) (Yerevin, Armenia)

July 2022 RehabWeek and International Society of Virtual Rehabilitation 2022 (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) A Simulator for powered mobility, co-authors Prof. Phillipe Archambeault and Prof. Patrice L. Weiss

March 2022- Israel Telemedicine Community Pediatric Telerehabilitation- from challenges to potential solutions.

November 2021- Annual conference of the Israel Society Occupational Therapy. The development of a new evaluation for pediatric powered mobility-3PM, co-author Dr. Lori Rosenberg.

Helmsley Charitable Trust

Naomi Gefen, Co-principal investigator, Research in Technology for Rehabilitation and Independent Function at The Helmsley Pediatric & Adolescent Rehabilitation Research Center, ALYN Hospital, funded by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, 2021-2024.

Promobilia

SEK 330,000 Development of a new powered mobility simulator for children, including authoring and personalization tools. The project is in collaboration with Prof. Philippe Archambault and Prof. Tamar Weiss.

Ministry of Health- Digital Health

ILS 50,000 (with Sheba Medical Center) Hybrid Tele-Health Approaches to Allied Health Services: A Scoping Review. Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Tal Krasovsky. Investigators: Prof. Tamar Weiss, Dr. Racheli Kizony, Dr. Liat Gafni.

National Institute for Research Israel

ILS 300,000 (with Sheba Medical Center) Hybrid Approach (in-person and remote) to Pediatric Rehabilitation: A Look Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis. Co- Principal Investigator: Dr. Tal Krasovsky. Investigators: Dr. Maurit Beeri, Dr. Jana Landa, Prof. Tamar Weiss, Dr. Efrat Shadmi.

Little Steps NGO

ILS 88,000 Going Beyond the Status Quo: Using Technology and Participatory Design to Improve Function for Adolescents and Young Adults with Duchenne. Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Lori Rosenberg.

Shalem Foundation

ILS 75,000 Remote rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy and intellectual developmental disability using an innovative training application. Co-Principal Investigators: Prof. Meir Lotan, Ariel University and Prof. Tamar Weiss.

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About Us

ALYN Hospital is the only rehabilitation center for children and adolescents in Israel and one of the leading facilities in the world. ALYN Hospital specializes in diagnosing and rehabilitating children coping with a wide variety of congenital and acquired physical disabilities