Functional Electrical Stimulation in Neurorehabilitation

Thomas Schick , MSc has been a physiotherapist since 1993 and has gained extensive experience in the field of neurorehabilitation. He has led several teams at German rehabilitation clinics. He also holds a qualification as a specialist in social and health care. For more than 28 years, he has been active as a lecturer in various neurological rehabilitation approaches. Among other activities, he regularly teaches in the master's degree program in Neurorehabilitation at the Center for Neurorehabilitation at Danube University Krems, Austria. The central focus of his professional work is the transfer and deepening of knowledge in the field of functional electrical stimulation (FES). After completing his master's degree in Neurorehabilitation in 2015, he joined Neurorehabilitation STIWELL, a department of the international company MED-EL, headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. In his role as Head of the Department of Neurorehabilitation, he is responsible for the development of medical products from a medical-therapeutic perspective, the implementation of training programs, and scientific work in the field of FES. He is a lifetime member of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS) and has published several articles in professional journals. He is also the author and the editor of the German- and English language 1st edition therapeutic textbook entitled Functional Electrical Stimulation in Neurorehabilitation.

Ines Bersch-Porada , MSc, PhD is working at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre since 1991 and has been Head of the International FES Centre® since 2018. Her work focuses on functional electrical stimulation (FES) and its implementation in the rehabilitation of people suffering from paraplegia and neuromusculoskeletal disorders.

Additionally, she teaches at the Universities of Applied Sciences in Bern and Basel. In 2012, the author obtained a Master of Science in Neurorehabilitation Research and her PhD in Clinical Sciences at the University of Gothenburg. Her topic was focusing on upper and lower motoneuron lesions in tetraplegia-diagnostic and therapeutic implications of electrical stimulation. Apart from her clinical work, she gives lectures and organizes workshops. As a clinician, scientist, lecturer, and active member of the IFESS, she implements FES in clinical practice based on clinical study results and new technologies.

Patricia Meier, PhD graduated as a physiotherapist from the University of Applied Sciences for Health, in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2010. She continued her further qualifications at the Danube University Krems, Austria, obtaining a master's degree in Neurorehabilitation in 2018. In 2026, she completed her PhD in Neuroscience at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria. She is working at the Medical University of Innsbruck´s Department of Neurology since 2011, becoming head of the Department of Neurorehabilitation in 2025. She is actively involved in clinical stroke research, focusing intensively on motor (re-)learning approaches and their effects on neural reorganization. Moreover, she is a lecturer in the field of neurorehabilitation, at the University of Applied Sciences for Health, as well as at several national and international conferences. Throughout her career, she has contributed to the development of national guidelines (treatment pathway stroke) and is a member of the World Stroke Organization´s (WSO) rehabilitation implementation committee.