Although there are a few groups conducting neuromodulation studies involving spinal cord stimulation to improve function in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Canada, our shared experience is that Canadians are often leaving the country to receive these interventions that are not always safe, rigorous, or credible because these opportunities are not universally or readily available across Canada. “CANOE” brings together existing Canadian expertise on spinal cord neuromodulation to plan for a network driven to make this promising intervention available to Canadians with SCI no matter where they live. This work represents a planning grant funded by Praxis to achieve this goal with three specific deliverables in mind: 1. Develop open-source modules in three key areas (stimulation parameters, outcome measurement, implementation / KT); 2. Develop open-source, pragmatic protocols for clinical trials based on these modules; and 3. Work together to obtain funding to support large-scale clinical trials with researchers across Canada. The presentation will share progress to date toward these deliverables. Specific learning objectives for the presentation include the following: Participants will be able to describe: 1. The overall vision of the CANOE initiative. 2. The initial protocol being piloted and in development for possible testing in a multi-centre trial. 3. CANOEs next steps (and participants will also be asked to provide feedback and suggestions related to these).

Dalton Wolfe 

Dalton Wolfe is a Scientist at Parkwood Institute (SJHC London and Lawson Health Research Institute) and an Assistant Professor (part-time) in the School of Health Studies (Faculty of Health Sciences) at Western University in London Ontario Canada.  

Dalton leads the R2P (Research 2 Practice) team at Parkwood Institute that integrates clinical and research efforts to improve care and clinical outcomes. This is a clinically embedded group that supports clinical practice through application of implementation science and incorporates a participatory, person-centred approach to build practice-based research initiatives that integrate research and education within clinical practice. This approach has ensured that research questions and resulting initiatives have resonance in the “real world” and have practical application towards the ultimate goal of enhancing health for people with neurological conditions.  

Dalton's focus on implementation science and integrated knowledge translation are most often applied to his primary research interests of adapted physical activity and activity-based therapies such as robotic or FES-assisted therapies to support mobility. Dalton co-leads the SCI Implementation & Evaluation Quality Care Consortium (www.sciconsortium.ca) which focuses on implementation of quality indicators towards the enhancement of care across the 5 academic health centres involved in SCI rehabilitation in the province of Ontario, recently expanding to 5 additional centres across Canada.  Dalton is also co-editor and contributing member of the SCIRE Research Team (www.scireproject.com), an evidence-based review of SCI rehabilitation.

 

Colleen O’Connell 

Truly an East-coaster and never far from water, Colleen completed medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland and residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Dalhousie University, Canada. She is Medical Director and Research Chief at New Brunswick’s Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation and is the Clinical Research Director of University of New Brunswick Institute of Biomedical Engineering, with faculty appointments at Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. Believing in the strength of collaboration, or perhaps having difficulty saying no, she is a member of many networks: Canadian ALS Research Network, Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, Canadian SCI Alliance, Canadian Neurologic Diseases Network, Atlantic Mobility Action Project. She is a past-president of the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Research interests and outputs are broad and reflect a tendency to being an early adopter in areas of treatment and applied technologies for mobility impairment and function. Development of best practices are priorities, and she contributes as member of the PVA SCI Guidelines Consortium, Canadian SCI Pain Guidelines Committee, and the ALS Canada Best Practice Recommendations. International collaborations are her passion, and she has worked in capacity building initiatives with friends and partners in many countries, and serves on the International Spinal Cord Society External Relations Committee and represents ISCoS on the WHO Emergency Medical Teams SCI initiative and the SCI Service Module Advisory Group. In another life, she would be an adventure travel guide.

 

Stephanie Marrocco 

Stephanie is a PhD candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Western University and a research coordinator with the Research to Practice (R2P) team at Parkwood Institute (Lawson Health Research Institute). Ms. Marrocco completed an MSc from Western University examining gait laterality in persons with stroke. She is interested in better understanding rehabilitation processes that are associated with the best possible outcomes, especially focusing on physical activity programming and activity-based therapies in persons with neurological impairments. In particular, Stephanie is examining preferences of physical activity patterns in persons with various mobility impairments with a goal of designing more personalized programming that will enhance people’s participation in physical activity. In addition, Stephanie has managed several National projects including planning initiatives involving development of a physical activity strategy for persons with SCI as well as the CANOE Collaboration to develop resources and protocols for neuromodulation through spinal stimulation. Being a true northerner, Stephanie loves playing and watching hockey, as well as hiking and camping in the great outdoors!