Senior Research Career Scientist

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Dr. Ronald J. Triolo is Senior Research Career Scientist with the Rehabilitation R&D Service, and a Tenured Full Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He is Executive Director of the VA RR&D Center for Advanced Platform Technology which develops novel medical devices and assistive restorative technologies for individuals with sensorimotor impairments or limb loss. Dr. Triolo has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters, and has mentored more than 40 graduate and medical students or post-doctoral trainees. He currently leads independent research programs funded the VA, NIH, DoD and other agencies as Principal or Co-Principal Investigator. Dr. Triolo was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, received the Paul B. Magnuson Award for outstanding achievement in Rehabilitation Research and Development from the VA, and was named the Outstanding Veterans Health Administration Employee (Honorable Mention) of 2020 by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Dr. Triolo has devised, patented and evaluated assistive devices to facilitate the sit-to-stand transition and negotiate stairs, ramps or other architectural barriers, and is in the process of preparing novel interventions for exercising after spinal cord injury (SCI) for dissemination within the VHA. His research program encompasses five main areas: 1. Implanted Neuroprostheses for Standing and Walking: Dr. Triolo leads an interdisciplinary team dedicated to developing, deploying, and evaluating the clinical outcomes of surgically implanted motor system neuroprostheses for lower extremity function after SCI. He quantifies their acute and chronic performances, and explores novel methods of integrating stimulated and volitional muscle activity. His team creates new computational tools to analyze the biomechanics of bipedal stance and stepping, and applies them to optimize control systems for maintaining erect balance or facilitating efficient walking. 2. Seated Balance and Wheelchair Propulsion: This research explores methods to control the paralyzed pelvis and spine to restore vertebral alignment, extend bimanual reach, provide active sitting balance, and enhance mechanical efficiency of manual wheelchair propulsion. Dr. Triolo documents the effects of modulating stiffness of the trunk on regulating upright posture to prevent falls from the wheelchair and expand control over objects in the environment. 3. Selective Peripheral Nerve Interfaces: Dr. Triolo has designed and verified the safety and performance of new, highly selective multicontact peripheral nerve electrodes capable of isolating functionally distinct fascicular groups within a common nerve trunk. Selectivly activating of independent groups of neurons can elicit multiple joint motions, or discrete sensations perceived as arising from the missing limb, from a common surgical site on the proximal nerve, and alternating between synergistic motor unit pools can prolong force output and delay onset of fatigue. 4. Natural Sensation for Lower Limb Amputees: This program applies selective multicontact nerve electrodes to activate the sensory components of the sciatic nerve above the knee in the residual limbs of amputees to induce sensations referred to the missing limb. Elicited sensory information is processed by the CNS in a manner similar to input from intact mechanoreceptors, and can improve standing and ambulatory ability after traumatic or diabetic limb loss, and is being integrating with motorized lower limb prostheses. 5. Neuromechanical Gait Assist Systems: Dr. Triolo develops novel exoskeletal systems to facilitate bipedal mobility for individuals with SCI or other neuromuscular disorders. His innovative “muscle first” approach integrates mechanical components with volitional or electrically activated muscle contractions to maximize physical benefit and achieve the walking speeds required for community ambulation.