dr. R.E. Ornelas Kobayashi (Rafael)

Motivated by my fascination for neural interfacing technologies and motor-restoring technologies, I joined the University of Twente's Neuromechanical Modelling and Engineering lab in 2020.

My research combines neuronal modelling, electrophysiological recordings (i.e., high-density electromyography) and signal processing with three main research objectives:

1) Creating model-enhanced neural interfaces 

2) Studying neuro-muscular interactions in healthy and motor-impaired human individuals

3) Assessing neuro-muscular adaptations in response to electrical stimulation and robotic actuation

During my PhD, I developed a person-specific modelling framework for estimating the activity and underlying properties of human alpha-motoneuron pools during isometric contractions. This work was part of the ERC project INTERACT, led by prof. Massimo Sartori.

Priorly, I did my master thesis at the centre for neuroprosthetics, in the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, where I focus on the study of epidural electrical stimulation for restoring locomotion after spinal cord injury. 

Expertise

• Neuroscience

  • In Vivo
  • Neurorehabilitation
  • Electromyography
  • Motor Control
  • Motor Unit
  • Excitability

• Medicine and Dentistry

  • Motoneuron
  • Person

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Address

University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room W119
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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