Rehabilitation Medicine Department Screening Protocol

Clinical Center

Investigators

Abstract

The primary function of the health professionals in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department (RMD) is to diagnose and treat patients who have a dysfunction in locomotion, activities of daily living, occupational or avocational roles, communication, deglutition or who experience chronic pain. The goal of RMD is to help patients achieve their maximal level of function in order to optimally perform everyday activities. The RMD Screening protocol affords RMD staff an opportunity to pilot new tests, techniques, therapeutic modalities, technology, or equipment that have very low or no risk. Such media may be commonly used in rehabilitation practice, but are being tested at NIH in a population that is different from the traditional. This protocol is designed for pilot work, and data generated from the pilot projects may be used, for example, to generate a protocol or to assure investigators of the ease/usefulness of the assessment, technology, or equipment. The RMD Screening protocol was used to pilot the following projects: 1) Pilot project on the quality of psychological and physiological health of patients diagnosed with ETOH disorders, 2) Pilot project to examine the feasibility of using thoracic electrical bioimpedance to non-invasively determine cardiac output during exercise, and 3) Pilot project to examine the use of a force transducer to measure the amount of resistance to passive finger movement.