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About

Arve Opheim is a leading researcher in neurorehabilitation, with a primary focus on restoring mobility after spinal cord injury and stroke through advanced robotic exoskeleton technology. His work centers on evaluating the safety, feasibility, and functional benefits of powered exoskeletons for gait training, bridging the critical gap between device development and real-world clinical implementation. Opheim’s most influential study, with 180 citations, demonstrated that eight weeks of training with Ekso Bionics exoskeletons is both safe and feasible for individuals with spinal cord injury, significantly improving gait function. He further expanded this work in a landmark European multicentre exploratory study (87 citations), which revealed that exoskeleton training can positively impact secondary health conditions, including spasticity, pain, and bowel function. Extending his research to stroke rehabilitation, Opheim’s 2020 study (46 citations) confirmed the feasibility of implementing the Ekso GT™ in a stroke unit, documenting functional gains and positive patient experiences. His contributions are pivotal in providing the empirical evidence needed to translate robotic gait training from research settings into routine clinical practice, directly improving quality of life for individuals with neurological impairments.