Faculty

Richard Lauer

Ph.D.

Dr. Richard Lauer received his bachelor’s in biomedical engineering from the Catholic University of America in 1993; his MS from Case Western Reserve University in 1996, and his PhD from Case Western Reserve University in 2001. After completing a one-year postdoctoral fellowship with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Lauer joined the Scientific Staff of Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, Philadelphia in 2003.

Dr. Lauer’s research interests lie in two areas. The first is in the area of functional electrical stimulation (FES), and its application for individuals with spinal cord injury and cerebral palsy. His current research efforts in this area have been the exploration of the health and fitness benefits of FES cycling for children with a spinal cord injury. This study was the first of its kind to examine the effects of cycling and/or electrical stimulation for one year at home in order to promote musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health. As the next step in this ongoing research, the focus will be on exploring the effects of varying the cycling cadence and the resistances that an individual can cycle against to promote further health and fitness benefits, as well as explore the possibility of mobile FES cycling to promote a healthy lifestyle.

His second line of research is directed towards musculoskeletal biomechanics. This has primarily been in the area of advanced analysis techniques of electromyographic (EMG) signals to extract time and frequency information during a functional task. This has led to the development of a new EMG index for use in children with cerebral palsy (CP) during gait, and new insights into the outcomes of hamstring lengthening surgeries in children with CP. With this pilot work, research efforts have been expanding to examine EMG signals acquired during isometric and isokinetic movements, and correlate muscle characteristics under these conditions to the observations made in the same muscles during gait to extract new information about muscle activation in CP. Current work is also directed towards the recording of hip and trunk muscle activity in children with CP, and examining muscle activation characteristics in young children who are just learning to walk.  Finally, research has also been directed towards applying these muscle analysis techniques, along with functional MRI scans of the cortex, to examine the peripheral and central nervous system responses to botulinum toxin injections for the correction of muscle spasticity in CP.

Dr. Lauer’s grant funding sources over the past several years include the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Education Foundation, the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and Shriners Hospitals for Children

Representative Publications:

Pierce SR, Barbe MF, Barr AE, Shewokis PA, Lauer RT. The Roles of Reflex Activity and Co-contraction during the Assessment of Spasticity of Knee Flexors and Knee Extensors in Children with Cerebral Palsy with Different Functional Levels. In press Physical Therapy.

Johnston TE, Lauer RT, Lee SCK. The Effects of a Shank Guide on Cycling Biomechanics of an Adolescent with Cerebral Palsy. In press Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Johnston TE, Smith BT, Oladeji O, Betz R, Lauer RT. Outcomes of a Home Cycling Program with or without Functional Electrical Stimulation for Children with Spinal Cord Injury: A Case Series. J Spinal Cord Medicine, 31(2), 215-221, 2008.

Pierce SR, Johnston TE, Shewokis PA, Lauer RT. Examination of spasticity of the knee flexors and knee extensors using isokinetic dynamometry with EMG and clinical scales in children with spinal cord injury.  J Spinal Cord Medicine, 31(2): 208-214, 2008.

Johnston TE, Smith BT, Betz RR, Lauer RT.  Exercise Testing using Upper Extremity Ergometry in Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury.  Pediatr Phys Ther, 20(2): 146-151, 2008.

Lauer RT, Johnston TE, Smith BT, Lee SCK. Muscle activity during cycling in adolescents with and without cerebral palsy. Clin Biomech, 23(4):442-449, 2008.

Oladeji O, Johnston TE, Smith BT, Mulcahey MJ, Betz RR, Lauer RT. Quality of Life in Children with Spinal Cord Injury. Pediatr Phys Ther, 19(4), 296-300, 2007.

Pierce SR, Barbe M, Barr A, Shewokis PA, Lauer RT. Co-contraction during passive movements of the knee joint in children with cerebral palsy. Clin Biomech, 22(9), 1045-1048, 2007.

Lauer R, Johnston TE, Smith BT, Mulcahey MJ, Betz RR, Maurer AH. Bone Mineral Density of the Hip and Knee in Children with Spinal Cord Injury. J Spinal Cord Medicine, 30:S10-S14, 2007.

Lauer RT, Smith BT, Shewokis PA, McCarthy JJ, Tucker CA. Time-Frequency Changes in Electromyographic Signals After Hamstring Lengthening Surgery in Children with Cerebral Palsy. J Biomechanics, 40(12), 2738-2743, 2007.

Pierce SR, Lauer RT, Shewokis PA, Rubertone JA, Orlin MN. Test-retest reliability of isokinetic dynamometry for the assessment of spasticity of the knee flexors and knee extensors in children with cerebral palsy. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 87(5), 697-702, 2006.

Lauer RT, Smith BT, Betz R. Application of a Neuro-Fuzzy Network for Gait Event Detection Using Electromyography in the Child with Cerebral Palsy. IEEE Trans Biomed Engr, 52(9), 1532-1540, 2005.

Lauer RT, Stackhouse C, Shewokis PA, Smith B, Orlin M, McCarthy J. Assessment of Wavelet Analysis of Gait in Children with Typical Development and Cerebral Palsy. J Biomechanics, 38(6), 1351-1357, 2005.

Pierce SR, Orlin MN, Lauer RT, Johnston TE, Smith BT, McCarthy JJ. Comparison of percutaneous and surface functional electrical stimulation during gait in a child with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.  American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 83(10), 798-805,2004.

Lauer RT, Smith B, Coiro D, Betz R, McCarthy J. Feasibility of Gait Event Detection Using Intramuscular Electromyography to Trigger Electrical Stimulation in the Child with Cerebral Palsy. Neuromodulation, 7(3), 205-213, 2004.