SJTU Institute of Rehabilitation Engineering (IRE) was established in 1988. The mission of the institute is to accomplish the rehabilitation of the disabled suffered from neurological disorders. The major research directions of the institute include: Neuromuscular control; neuromodulation; biomechanics of orthopaedics; and exoskeleton assistant robot. In the recent five years, the PIs of institute have made three major scientific discoveries as follows: (1) Advanced a testable hypothesis that propriospinal neurons (PN) are essential in processing motor commands in the corticomuscular coupling, through computational analysis with the virtual arm model including components of musculoskeletal dynamics, proprioceptive sensors and spinal reflex circuits. (2) Investigated electrical stimulation of phantom-limb areas in amputees to provide an effective and non-invasive way to accomplish sensory feedback for prosthetic hand. (3) Developed a distributed FES system with an adaptive controller for individualized training in rehabilitation of stroke patients. These projects were carried out with close collaboration with Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Ruijin Hospital, and Renji Hospital of SJTU School of Medicine. During the last five years, the PIs of the institute have obtained 26 national research grants, published 12 SCI papers, 24 EI papers, and have filed 8 patent applications.
        Currently, the institute has 5 faculty members, including Prof. Kerong Dai (Honorary Director, member of Chinese Academy of Engineering), Prof. Ning Lan (Executive Associate Director), Prof. Le Xie (adjunct faculty), Dr. Jinwu Wang (adjunct faculty), and Dr. Qing Xie (adjunct faculty). Prof. Dai Kerong has made significant contributions in biomechanics andorthopaedic surgery. Prof. Ning Lan is an internationally known expert in neural control of movement and neurorehabilitation. The institute has lab space of 150 square meters in Xuhui campus, SJTU.