MDNews - Long Island

Meet Dr. Semel JENNIFER SEMEL, MD, physiatrist, has served as the Medical Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at St. Charles Hospital since 2002. She is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, pediatrics, and palliative care, and leverages her specialty training and clinical experience in these areas to deliver state-of-the-art care to individuals from birth to age 100 and beyond who are living with injuries and physical disabilities. + Education: Graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine + Residency: Trained in Pediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rusk Institute/New York University Medical Center, where she served as Chief Resident in Pediatric Rehabilitation Following her residency, Dr. Semel moved to Washington, D.C., where she became the Division Chief of Rehabilitative Services at Children's National Medical Center, and where she founded and served as Medical Director of Project CHASE (Children's Hospital Adaptive Sports and Exercise Program), an adaptive swimming program for youth with disabilities. In addition to leading the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program at St. Charles Hospital, Dr. Semel serves as a Professor of Clinical Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine. Dr. Semel has been recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of D.C.'s top doctors, featured in Long Island Business News as one of Long Island's top doctors, and nominated by the New York State Senate for its annual Women of Distinction selection for her dedication to the Long Island community and notable achievements in health care. Additionally, Dr. Semel has authored a number of book chapters and peer- reviewed articles, and has been an integral part of several multicenter rehabilitation research studies, including the ongoing study of Indego, a leading-edge powered exoskeleton indicated for spinal cord injury patients. limb exoskeleton for people who a re undergoing treatment for spina l cord injuries and are between 5'1" and 6'3" and weigh 100 to 250 pounds. The FDA approved Indego in March 2016, follow- ing a la rge, multicenter clinica l tria l eva luating the device's safety. The robotic exoskeleton is attached to the waist and sides of the legs, allowing the patient to wa lk with the assistance of cr utches or a wa lker a nd per form over-ground ga it tra ining. W hen the patient wa nt s to st a nd up, he lea ns for wa rd a nd the dev ice enables him to stand; if he wants to wa lk, he leans forward slightly, and the device begins the wa lking motion. "Part of our strategic plan for invest- i n g i n a nd i nves t i gat i n g upcom i n g state-of-the-a r t rehabilitative tech- nologies focuses on innovative robotic t e ch nolog ie s w it h e xos kelet on s i n particular, and Indego is one of those devices," Dr. Semel says. " We looked at numerous exoskeleton technolog ies, but our tea m felt the Indego wa s the most advanced. It's lighter weight than most — at only 26 pounds — whereas others tend to weigh more tha n 100 pounds, which can throw o the patient's balance, making it more di¥cult to walk. "A dd it ion a l ly, ot her e xos kelet on devices tend to have upper-body packs, or apparatuses, and external cables that can be quite cumbersome," Dr. Semel continues. "A ll machinery in Indego is built into the device, which spans the wa ist dow n to the a nk les, ma king it much more patient-friendly." A not her adva nta ge of Indego is it a llows patients who use wheelcha irs to wea r it while sitting in their cha ir and then standing. Similar exoskeleton devices are often too bulky to allow such easy access and use. PUTTING INDEGO TO THE TEST Greg Durso, a 31-year-old senior credit Michele Galante-Adams, PT, Lead Physical Therapist, St. Charles Hospital (left) and Mark Schmalzle, PT, St. Charles Hospital (right), guard Greg Durso (center), as he walks while wearing the hospital's exoskeleton. Clinicians store the frame and stride measurements for each patient utilizing an app, which connects with the exoskeleton via booth technology. The app will record the time and number of steps a patient has taken in each session. 0 8❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R F E A T U R E

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