Innovation in a Learning Organization: Impact and Challenges in Rehabilitation

Save the date

November 19, 2026, 08h00-15h30
MAB at the Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Center

Auditorium Layton Hall, 7000 Sherbrooke W, Montreal, QC H4B 1R3

This event is open to all: healthcare professionals, clinical managers, researchers, graduate students, research staff, service users, and the general public, as well as policymakers interested in physical rehabilitation

Click this link to register: https://event.fourwaves.com/4threhabilitationscientificday

Preliminary program

TIME MORNING LOCATION
8:00–8:45 a.m. WELCOME AND REGISTRATION Layton Hall Auditorium
8:45–9:00 a.m. WELCOME REMARKS AND OPENING ADDRESSES

DPAAS

Habilitas

 Layton Hall Auditorium
9:00–9:45 a.m. KEYNOTE ADDRESS Dr. Marie-Pierre Gagnon Université Laval

“Learning in a Context of Rapid Change with AI”

 Layton Hall Auditorium
9:45–9:50 a.m. EVA KEHAYIA AWARD for promising early-career researcher Layton Hall Auditorium
9:50–10:05 a.m. 2025 EVA KEHAYIA AWARD RECIPIENT

Dr. Frédérique Poncet

 Layton Hall Auditorium
10:05–10:35 a.m 6 FLASH TALKS Layton Hall Auditorium
10:35–10:50 a.m. 2026 EVA KEHAYIA AWARD RECIPIENT

Dr. Natalina Martiniello

 Layton Hall Auditorium
10:50 a.m.–12:50 p.m. 10 CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS

Rooms assigned according to your registration; see the list below.

 Various rooms
Column 1 Value 9 LUNCH, POSTER SESSION AND MOBILE EXHIBITION Cafeteria, C133
TIME AFTERNOON LOCATION
1:50–2:35 p.m. PANEL DISCUSSION

Dr. Maxime Cohen • Dr. Marco Laverdière • Dr. Myriam Côté • Dr. Marie-Pascale Pomey • Dr. Sarah Clohé Lacoste • Dr. Marie-Pierre Gagnon

 Layton Hall Auditorium
2:35–2:40 p.m. CRIR REMARKS Layton Hall Auditorium
2:40–3:25 p.m. POSTER SESSION Layton Hall • Cafeteria C133 • E1 Corridor
3:25–3:30 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS Layton Hall Auditorium

 

 

Workshops, Click for more details

Facilitators: Alexandre Oillic; Dr. Michael Reber
Room:
Description: Building on the pilot study conducted in Toronto and the European REVIIH-BT study planned with 120 participants across eight centres, Kaptics and Dr. Michael Reber have developed a device combining immersive visual stimulation, electroencephalography (EEG), and eye tracking. A checkerboard pattern displayed in the headset makes it possible to measure visual evoked potentials. Eye tracking verifies fixation, while responses are averaged and visualized during data acquisition. The initial data involve healthy participants; data collection with patients is planned before and after the rehabilitation program.

Facilitators: Frédérique Poncet; E. Vaucher; A. Saj; Weill Chounlamountry
Room: Boardroom C233

Description: H’Spires is PC- or Mac-based software designed to rehabilitate blind visual field areas through high-contrast moving stimulation presented along the border of the blind field. Following calibration, patients complete two 20-minute sessions per day at home. A pre–post feasibility study will assess the effects on visual fields and activities of daily living. A student will work on the project for six months in 2027. The workshop will give clinical teams an opportunity to test the software and discuss outcome variables and measurement tools.

Facilitators: Claire Liu; Anne Nguyen-Doan; David Lam; PAT team
Room: B315A

Description: A fully adapted board game using assistive technologies commonly used in rehabilitation. Participants use different computer access methods and communication setups to play, make choices, and interact. This hands-on activity offers an opportunity to experience the realities of people with physical or communication limitations and to explore the roles of occupational therapy and speech-language pathology in promoting participation and inclusion.

Animateurs: Arnaud Saj; Bertrand Caty; Mohsin Khan; Riaz Khan Salle: Description: neurOmarker est une plateforme web d’analyse et d’interprétation neurofonctionnelle de l’EEG. Elle structure une chaîne reproductible allant du contrôle de qualité à la quantification de marqueurs EEG/qEEG, leur contextualisation scientifique et leur restitution clinique. Elle offre notamment analyse spectrale, visualisation des fréquences, suivi longitudinal et rapports standardisés. La base de connaissances documente les méthodes et niveaux de preuve, tandis qu’un agent conversationnel aide à lire les résultats et à reconnaître les limites méthodologiques sans automatiser indûment le diagnostic.

Animateurs: Elena Guseva; Walter Wittich

Salle:

Description: Atelier interactif fondé sur un projet de mobilisation des connaissances financé par CABHI. Après une introduction aux changements visuels et cognitifs associés à la démence, les participants analysent une vignette clinique et proposent des adaptations de l’éclairage, du contraste, de la complexité visuelle, du placement du matériel et de la communication du thérapeute. L’approche vise à réduire la charge cognitive et à soutenir le choix, la communication et l’engagement significatif.

Facilitators:
Room:

Description: Each 30-minute session includes a 5-minute introduction and overview, followed by a 15-minute self-guided gallery-style visit featuring three stations. Participants rotate between stations every 5 minutes to explore each one. Each station includes a brief presentation and physical materials, such as comics, activities used at the booth, and images of the artwork. The session concludes with 10 minutes for questions and closing remarks.

Animateurs: Fernanda Menescal; Nicolas Jimenez, MSc; Bita Hojjatpanah Montazeri, IMG; Sara Ahmed, PhD

Salle:

Description: Après un AVC ou un traumatisme craniocérébral (TCC), la récupération exige une pratique intensive et répétitive, alors que le temps de thérapie est limité, particulièrement lors de la transition de l’hôpital vers les soins ambulatoires. Kinesix-VR est une plateforme immersive qui utilise l’intelligence artificielle pour suivre les mains et les doigts en temps réel et transformer des tâches quotidiennes en exercices thérapeutiques progressifs et ludiques. Cette étude pré-post à méthodes mixtes évaluera l’implantation de Kinesix-VR dans le programme de réadaptation neurologique du CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest. Cliniciens, gestionnaires, experts TI, patients et proches aidants participeront à la co-conception. La préparation et l’implantation seront évaluées au moyen de groupes de discussion et de questionnaires (ORIC, NoMAD, AIM/IAM/FIM), avec suivi de la faisabilité, de la fidélité, de l’adoption et des résultats rapportés par les patients pendant 15 mois, selon les cadres CFIR, ERIC et NPT. Les résultats attendus comprennent un plan d’implantation adapté, des données sur les obstacles et facilitateurs ainsi que des données préliminaires sur la dose thérapeutique et la récupération fonctionnelle.

Facilitators: Dominique Gélinas Bronsard; Nell Kupka; Evgenia Pateras
Room: A308

Description: Learning to use powered mobility devices requires equipment that can accommodate a wide range of abilities, access methods, and positioning needs in children. In response to limitations identified with existing solutions, the team initiated the development of a pediatric training wheelchair.

The project followed a collaborative, iterative approach that brought together clinical and technical expertise. Needs identified in clinical practice guided the design, adaptations, and progressive refinement of the wheelchair. This process led to the development of an adaptable training wheelchair that allows positioning and access methods to be adjusted to meet each child’s needs.

Beyond the product itself, the project illustrates the value of combining different areas of expertise and engaging in experimentation to address unmet clinical needs. Presented as an interactive workshop, the project will invite participants to envision their own solution before discovering the one developed by the team, and to reflect on the conditions that enable a clinical need to be transformed into innovation.

Facilitators: Arnaud Saj; Bertrand Caty
Room:

Description: Develop an integrated neurofunctional workflow suited to routine clinical practice, from EEG signal acquisition to its therapeutic application and interpretation.

 

 

Organizing Committee:

  • Walter Wittich, Associate Professor, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, CRIR Researcher
  • Sara Ahmed, Full Professor, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, CRIR Researcher
  • Frédérique Poncet, Institutional Researcher, Assistant Professor, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, CRIR Researcher
  • Shari Joseph, Coordinator, Rehabilitation Services (Miriam Home and Services)
  • Gina Mills, Assistant to the Director, Directorate of Rehabilitation and Multidisciplinary Services
  • Mark Demaine, Assistant Director, Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Physical Disabilities Rehabilitation and Multidisciplinary Services
  • Thi Thanh Thao Dang, Physical Health Coordinator, Catherine Booth Hospital
  • Erica Fagen, Planning, Programming and Research Officer (PPRO), CIUSSS West-Central Montreal
  • Catherine Leblanc-Cormier, Program Manager, Home Rehabilitation Services
  • Christina Da Costa, Physiotherapist, MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre
  • Lucyna Maria Lach, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, McGill University
  • Natalina Martiniello, Assistant Professor, School of Optometry, Université de Montréal
  • Nancy Cox, Program Manager, Children’s Services (Ages 0-11)
  • Caroline Pelletier, Assistant Director, Knowledge Mobilization and Academic Partnerships Directorate (DPAAS)
  • Sharon O’Grady, Coordinator, Integrated Quality, Risk Management and User Partnership
  • Hiba Messaoudi, Program Manager, Home Rehabilitation Services, Metro Sector, Glenmount UTRF, RI and Cross-Sector Projects
  • Angele Sauzet, Student Representative, CRIR Axis 2
  • Mahmoud AboAlfa, Student Representative, CRIR-CRLLM, Constance-Lethbridge Site
  • Andréa Faust, Program Manager, Knowledge Mobilization and Academic Partnerships Directorate (DPAAS)
  • Mushirah Hossenbaccus, Clinical Research Coordinator in Rehabilitation, Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre
  • Naima Abbadi, Planning, Programming and Research Officer (PPRO), Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre

If you experience any difficulties with this page, please contact naima.abbadi.ccomtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.

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