We put research into practice

Innovation is more than a buzzword for us. Equipped with our own research institute and thanks to strong research collaborations, we do not only implement innovative technologies into our practices as fast as possible, but we also test their efficiency in treatment.

Research goals

The goal of our research and partnerships is to develop a novel form of neurorehabilitation that is seamlessly integrated into the daily routine of our patients. The goal is that you train yourself by being as active as possible. The necessary corrective feedback, assistance and safety measures are provided by intelligent technology and by the interaction with your therapist.

We are continuously taking part in innovative research collaborations and projects working in conjunction with renowned educational bodies around the world and always aiming for the highest quality of neurorehabilitation, based on the latest scientific developments.

Motivation

Patients need to be self-motivated to be active in their daily lives. Our motivational research focuses on innovative therapy approaches to incentivise and foster active training and activity in everyday life.

Taking ownership

We are continuously taking part in innovative research collaborations and projects working in conjunction with renowned educational bodies around the world and always aiming for the highest quality of neurorehabilitation, based on the latest scientific developments.

Research collaborations

Together with ETH Zurich (DHEST, Prof. Gassert , Prof. Riener), cereneo develops sensor technologies to be able to monitor stroke patients during their daily life.

Together with Hocoma, cereneo develops new training devices and robots for arms and legs and tests their use in clinical studies.

Together with Twente University (Biomedical Signals and Systems, Prof. Dr. ir. Peter Veltink), cereneo develops sensor and feedback technology for stroke patients.

Together with Johns Hopkins University, cereneo performs randomised, clinical studies in the area of arm rehabilitation using new robot training approaches.

Together with The LOOP Zurich Medical Research Center, cereneo is conducting a study to significantly improve precision rehabilitation through personalized stimulation loops.

We cooperate with the Schulthess Clinic, the leading clinic for orthopaedics, for acute orthopaedic questions and examinations.

University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and cereneo collaborate on Parkinson's disease recovery

We are proud to announce the collaboration between USZ and cereneo: Together we have developed a treatment approach that allows us to provide high quality care for gold standard Parkinson treatments at USZ and long-term rehabilitation at cereneo, while having access to a global network of leading Parkinson and neurorehabilitation experts. Want to learn what the programme offers to patients with Parkinson’s disease?

The latest technology in stroke recovery

Our neurorehabilitation clinic is equipped with state-of-the-art movement analysis, robotic systems and other innovative devices to complement the hands-on training with the therapist.

Armeo® Power by Hocoma

This arm exoskeleton helps impaired patients to train their arm movement by assisting with force.

ZeroG® by Aretech

This innovative over-ground gait training tool helps to train mobility and balance. Dynamic partial body weight support (DBWS) reduces the risk of falling whilst offering the patient a real-life experience.

Split-belt treadmill

Training on a split-belt treadmill with different velocities for each limb can trigger brain adaptations that render the gait more symmetrical. After a stroke this can be used to make the gait faster and less exhausting.

Current stroke research projects

Together with the cereneo Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (cefir), the University Hospital of Zurich and the ETH (Technical University), we perform basic and clinical research including randomised controlled trials testing new training and diagnostic methods.

Precision training

Training relies heavily on the feedback of the therapists, again based on observation and experience.

Diagnostic sensors

The continuous evaluation of neurological impairments and disability are the backbone of targeted and successful rehabilitation therapy

Reward-augmented training

Based on evidence that we developed in our basic science program, we hypothesise that training can be improved by adding rewards.

Current Publications

Automated and Quantitative Assessment of Tactile Mislocalization After Stroke
This is a case report by Mike D. Rinderknecht, Julio A. Dueñas, Jeremia P. Held, Olivier Lambercy, Fabio M. Conti, Leopold Zizlsperger, Andreas R. Luft, Marie-ClaudeHepp-Reymond and RogerGassert. The report describes a novel automated assessment tool for tactile mislocalization in neurological patients with somatosensory deficits after stroke. The automated assessment tool allows to identify, locate, precisely quantify, and depict the patients’ deficits in topesthesia, which can be severely affected by neurological injuries, such as stroke.
Rethinking interhemispheric imbalance as a target for stroke neurorehabilitation
This longitudinal study by Jing Xu, Meret Branscheidt, Heidi Schambra, Levke Steiner, Mario Widmer, Jörn Diederichsen, Jeff Goldsmith, Martin Lindquist, Tomoko Kitago, Andreas R. Luft, John W. Krakauer and Pablo A. Celnik aims to investigate inter hemispheric interactions of stroke patients by tracking their pre-movement inter hemispheric inhibition (IHI) for one year following their stroke. An inhibitory imbalance found in patients with chronic stroke seems to correlate with poor motor performance and is a target for therapeutic interventions.
Differential Poststroke Motor Recovery in an Arm Versus Hand Muscle in the Absence of Motor Evoked Potentials
This study by Heidi M. Schambra, Jing Xu, Meret Branscheidt, Martin Lindquist, Jasim Uddin, Levke Steiner, Benjamin Hertler, Nathan Kim, Jessica Berard, Michelle D. Harran, Juan C. Cortes, Tomoko Kitago, Andreas Luft, John W. Krakauer and Pablo A. Celnik aims to determine if presence or absence of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) differentially influences recovery of volitional contraction and strength in an arm muscle versus an intrinsic hand muscle. Recovery of movement in proximal and distal upper extremity (UE) muscles after stroke appears to follow different time courses which suggests differences in their neutral substrates.
Characterization of stroke-related upper limb motor impairments across various upper limb activities by use of kinematic core set measures
This prospective cross-sectional observational study by Anne Schwarz, Miguel M. C. Bhagubai, Saskia H. G. Nies, Jeremia P. O. Held, Peter H. Veltink, Jaap H. Buurke and Andreas R. Luft aims to comprehensively characterize spatiotemporal kinematics of stroke subjects during upper limb daily living activities. Therefore, kinematic expressions were investigated with respect to different movement types and impairment levels for the entire task as well as for motion subphases.
Changes in stroke rehabilitation during the SARS-CoV-2 shutdown in Switzerland
A prospective observational cohort study in stroke subjects by Jeremia P. O. Held, Anne Schwarz, Johannes Pohl, Eva Thürlimann, Silvan Porrtmann, Meret Branscheidt, Madalina Fratian, Jannie van Duinen, Janne M. Veerbeek and Andreas R. Luft. This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown on stroke survivors' access to therapy, physical activity, functioning and mood in Switzerland.