Cardiopulmonary Tele-rehabilitation & Remote Monitoring
Lead Researcher - Lisa Wickerson
Research Platforms
Research Overview
- Optimizing health-related Fitness: Studies include a feasibility trial of a home-based exercise program to mitigate metabolic disease in transplant recipients over one year from lung and liver transplantation, a retrospective study of the prevalence of physical frailty in lung transplant candidates and its’ response to pre-habilitation and relationship to early post-transplant outcomes, and several prospective studies examining early changes in lower extremity strength and function following lung transplantation, mental health needs of people with cystic fibrosis undergoing lung transplantation and skeletal muscle size and fat infiltration of limb muscles in interstitial lung disease.
- Remote Patient Assessment and Monitoring Studies include building a comprehensive remote monitoring lung transplant program and incorporating Bluetooth-enabled devices, remote serial monitoring of spirometry, oxygenation, activity and symptoms in interstitial lung disease, clinical utility of remote walk tests in advanced lung disease, virtual assessment of physical frailty in solid organ transplant recipients and several mixed-methods and qualitative studies of user-experience (patient and provider) and user-centered design features of digital health apps to track and support physical activity before and after solid organ transplantation.
- Tele-rehabilitation and Hybrid Rehabilitation: Studies include creating an extended rehabilitation pathway incorporating on-line health coaching, education and group support sessions for lung transplant recipients beyond the early post-surgical recovery phase to promote long-term physical activity self-management, building a robust hybrid pre- and early post-lung transplant rehabilitation model to optimize participation and functional outcomes, pre-operative home-based inspiratory muscle training, examining the trajectory of functional recovery after centre-based and tele-rehabilitation and exploring the patient and provider experience of receiving and providing tele-rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
People
Collaborators
- Sunita Mathur, School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen’s University
- Tania Janaudis-Ferriera, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University
- Shaf Keshavjee, Ajmera Transplant Centre, University Health Network
- Dmitry Rozenberg, Ajmera Transplant Centre, University Health Network
- Aman Sidhu, Ajmera Transplant Centre, University Health Network
- Lianne Singer, Ajmera Transplant Centre, University Health Network
Staff
- Tamires De Mori, Research Coordinator
Join Us
Lisa is accepting graduate students in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI) for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Contact: For more information contact Lisa Wickerson at lisa.wickerson@utoronto.ca.