Prof. Ortiz Catalán's Research

Bionics, Pain, and Neurorehabilitation.

Bionics

Prof. Ortiz Catalán led the development of the first prosthetic limb integrating directly into a patient’s bone, nerves, and muscles (TEDx, 2014). The first person implanted with this novel neuromusculoskeletal prosthesis has used it in daily life for over 10 years. People implanted with this new generation of highly integrated bionic prostheses can also perceive sensations when touching objects by directly stimulating the nerves severed by the amputation. His research in bionics also includes surgical reconstruction to further improve the dexterity of the prosthesis, in addition to neural interfaces; bioelectric signals acquisition electronics (analog and digital); bioelectric signal processing and machine learning algorithms for decoding motor volition and control; and neurostimulation for sensory feedback. See the recent documentary by WIRED for an overview

Pain

In addition to functional challenges, people with amputations often develop chronic neuropathic pain that further hinders their quality of life. Prof. Ortiz Catalán has conducted pioneering work on post-amputation pain, particularly in phantom limb pain (PLP). He has developed novel treatments for PLP using A.I. and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), which are now used around the world (video example). In 2018, he proposed a novel hypothesis for the neurogenesis of PLP (Ortiz-Catalan, Frontiers in Neurology, 2018), along with a theoretical framework for further understanding the condition and improving its treatment. His work has now expanded to pain due to sensorimotor impairments such as after nerve injuries, and also includes surgical approaches.

Neurorehabilitation

Prof. Ortiz Catalán has employed the technologies developed for his bionic and pain research in the rehabilitation of severe sensorimotor impairments, such as nerve injures and stroke.

80+

Scientific Journal Articles

30+

Conference Proceedings

50+

Scientific Abstracts

4

Book Chapters

4

Patents

Prof. Max Ortiz Catalan has authored numerous scientific publications in the form of peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, and scientific abstracts, as well as book chapters and patents. He is the first author in his most cited scientific articles (Top 7), and is the first or senior author in more than 80% of all of his publications. See Prof. Ortiz Catalan's Google Scholar Profile for the updated list of publications and citations.

Highlighted Scientific Publications

(ordered chronologically)

  • Ortiz-Catalan M., Zbinden J., Millenaar J., D’Accolti D., Controzzi M., Clemente F., Cappello L., Earley E., Mastinu E., Kolankowska J., Munoz-Novoa M., Jönsson S., Cipriani C., Sassu P., and Brånemark R., A highly integrated bionic hand with neural control and feedback for use in daily life, Science Robotics, 2023, 8(11):eadf7360.
  • Zbinden J., Sassu P., Mastinu E., Earley E., Munoz-Novoa M., Brånemark R., and Ortiz-Catalan M., Improved control of a prosthetic limb by surgically creating electro-neuromuscular constructs with implanted electrodes, Science Translational Medicine, 2023, 15 (704):eabq3665
  • Ortiz-CatalanM., Mastinu E., SassuP., Aszmann O., and Brånemark R., Neuromusculoskeletal arm prostheses, New England Journal of Medicine, 2020, 382(18):1732-1738
  • Ortiz-Catalan M., “The stochastic entanglement and phantom motor execution hypotheses: a theoretical framework for the origin and treatment of PLP”, Frontiers in Neurology, 2018, 9:748.
  • Ortiz-Catalan M., Guðmundsdóttir R.A., Kristoffersen M.B., Zepeda-Echavarria A., Caine-Winterberger K., Kulbacka-Ortiz K., Widehammar C., Eriksson K., Stockselius A., Ragnö C., Pihlar Z., Burger H., and Hermansson L., Phantom motor execution facilitated by machine learning and augmented reality as treatment for phantom limb pain: a single group, clinical trial in patients with chronic intractable phantom limb pain, The Lancet, 2016, 388:2885-2894.
  • Ortiz-Catalan M., Håkansson B., and Brånemark R., Osseointegrated human-machine gateway for long-term stable sensory feedback and motor control of artificial limbs, Science Translational Medicine, 2014, 257re6.
  • Ortiz-Catalan M., Brånemark R., and Håkansson B., BioPatRec: A modular research platform for the control of artificial limbs based on pattern recognition algorithms, Code Source for Medicine and Biology, 2013, 8:11.

News and views articles

See Prof. Ortiz Catalan's Google Scholar Profile for the updated list of publications.

10+

Keynote
Lectures

50+

Invited Speaker
International Conferences

50+

Invested Lectures
Universities Worldwide

Keynotes

  • 07/2024        IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC), Orlando, USA.
  • 08/2022        MEC Symposium, Fredericton, Canada.
  • 11/2021        World of Drones and Robotics Congress, Queensland, Australia.
  • 05/2021        LOGIN, Lithuanian Agency for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Lithuania.
  • 03/2021        Swedish Society for Biomechanics Annual Conference, Sweden.
  • 10/2019        International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics – ISPO World Congress, Kobe, Japan.
  • 05/2018        European Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania.
  • 10/2017        Congress of the French Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Nancy, France.
  • 05/2017        Osseo 2017, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
  • 04/2017        Annual Conference of the Swedish Technical Audiology Society, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 03/2017        International Conference of Advances in Orthopaedic Osseointegration, San Diego, USA.
  • 11/2016        Orto Medical Care, Madrid, Spain.
  • 06/2016        User Body Experience and HMI Assistive Robotics, Darmstadt, Germany.
  • 05/2016        OT World, Leipzig, Germany.
  • 06/2015        Conference of the International Graphonomics Society, Guadeloupe, France.

Invited Conferences Talks

  • 10/2024        Sensory Integration in Neuroprostheses, Rehabilitation, and Humanoid Robots, Munich, Germany.
  • 10/2024        Biosafety and Modern Rehabilitation Technologies, Kyiv, Ukraine.
  • 10/2024        International Healthcare Summit, Kiev, Ukraine.
  • 09/2024        International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, Heidelberg, Germany.
  • 05/2024        OT World, Leipzig, Germany.
  • 05/2024        16th Congress of the European Federation of Societies for Microsurgery, Milan, Italy.
  • 11/2023        Bionic Reconstruction Conference (BReCON), New York, USA.
  • 11/2023        International Healthcare Summit, Kiev, Ukraine.
  • 10/2023        Osseointegration and Bionic Limb Reconstruction, Bologna, Italy.
  • 09/2023        3rd Orthopedic Trauma Congress, Melbourne, Australia.
  • 08/2023        4th International Workshop on Neural Engineering and Rehabilitation, Chengdu, China.
  • 05/2023        FESSH-EFSHT (Fed. Eur. Soc. Surgery of the Hand and Hand Therapy) Congress, Rimini, Italy.
  • 04/2023        LokoAssist Symposium 2023, Darmstadt, Germany.
  • 03/2023        Boğaziçi LifeSci Symposium: Targeted Treatment Technologies, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • 10/2022        The British Society of Hand Surgery Scientific Meeting 2022, Winchester, England.
  • 10/2022        New Technologies in Neurorehabilitation and Motor Learning, Munich, Germany.
  • 09/2022        Amputation course by ISPO Sweden, Jönköping, Sweden.
  • 09/2022        1er Encuentro en Avances Tecnológicos en Rehabilitación Física, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
  • 09/2022        Professional Day on post-amputation Pain by ISPO Norway, Oslo, Norway.
  • 06/2022        IFSSH, IFSHT & FESSH Combined congress, London, England.
  • 05/2022        StratNeuro Retreat, Sweden.
  • 05/2022        OT World, Leipzig, Germany.
  • 03/2022        IV Congreso Nacional sobre Técnicas Ortoprotésicas, Sevilla, Spain.
  • 11/2021        British Assoc. of Chartered Physiotherapist in Amputee Rehabilitation, Manchester, England.
  • 08/2021        Rotary Club Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 08/2021        Orthotics Prosthetics Canada 2021 National Conference, Canada.
  • 07/2021        Blast Injury Conference, London, England.
  • 06/2021        FORUM 2021, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
  • 06/2021        STEM Fest: Semana de la Ingeniería, Mexico.
  • 07/2020        Online Workshop on Upper-limb Prosthetics, Newcastle University, England.
  • 03/2020        ISPO Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 10/2019        World Congress of Neurology (XXIV), Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  • 08/2019        27th Scandinavian Hand Society Congress, Tallin, Estonia.
  • 06/2019        10th Congress of World Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, Bologna, Italy.
  • 03/2019        Leva & Fungera (Nordic conf. for Assistive Technology and Accessibility), Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 11/2018        Association for Quality Assurance in Arm Prosthetics – Dialogue 2018, Dusseldorf, Germany.
  • 10/2018        Workshop 1010: The Maths of Biology, Mittag-Leffler Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 10/2018        iMed Conference, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • 07/2018        Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society (41st), Kobe, Japan.
  • 06/2018        Young Scientist Association Symposium (14th), Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
  • 06/2018        IV Jornadas de Ortoprotesia (4th), Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa, Portugal.
  • 04/2018        Elektronikindustriföreningen i Göteborg (EIG), Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 01/2018        ISPO UK Osseointegration Workshop, London, England.
  • 11/2017        ARMADA Talsk 2017, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 10/2017        Svenskt Smärtforum (Swedish Pain Forum), Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 07/2017        Rehabilitation Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand, Canberra, Australia.
  • 04/2017        Leva & Fungera (Nordic conf. for Assistive Technology and Accessibility), Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 03/2017        Handdagar (Swedish Society for Hand Rehabilitation), Malmö, Sweden.
  • 02/2017        Nordiskt Tvärfackligt Forum för Dysmeli och Armamputation, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 05/2016        Restoration of Sensory and Motor Function Symposium, Göttingen, Germany.
  • 02/2016       TEDx Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • 01/2016        Kshitij, IIT Kharagpur, India.
  • 12/2015        Go:LIFE, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 10/2015       Epicenter Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 10/2015       The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 03/2015       International Conference on Advances in Orthopaedic Osseointegration (6th), Las Vegas, USA.
  • 11/2014       TEDx Göteborg (http://youtu.be/V4UQU4392wM), Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 10/2014       Trans. Eng. in Neurorehabilitation (DEMOVE Symposium), Göttingen, Germany.
  • 09/2014       Life Science – National Day, Sep 30, 2014, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 08/2014       Annual IEEE EMBC 2014, Chicago, USA.
  • 06/2014       Neural Interface Conference, Dallas, USA.
  • 05/2014       MedTech West Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 04/2014       Myo-Seminar by Ottobock, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 02/2014       DARPA Sensorimotor Prosthetic Workshop, Phoenix, USA.
  • 06/2013       International TMR Symposium, Vienna, Austria.
  • 09/2010       Young Scientists Forum 2010 “From Laboratory to Clinics”, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 09/2010       Int. Conf. on Advances in Orthopaedic Osseointegration (3rd), Gothenburg, Sweden.

Invited Guest Lectures

  • 11/2024        Guest lecture, Harvard University, Boston, USA.
  • 04/2024        Guest lecture, Feofaniya Clinical Hospital, Kyiv, Ukraine.
  • 04/2024        Guest lecture, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy.
  • 08/2023        Guest lecture, Southern University of Science and Technology Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
  • 07/2023        Guest lecture, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Sydney, Australia.
  • 07/2023        Guest lecture, Vinnytsia National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine.
  • 02/2023        Guest lecture, University of Houston, Texas, USA.
  • 12/2022        Guest lecture, Rizzoli Orthopaedics Institute, Bologna, Italy.
  • 08/2022        Guest lecture, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
  • 06/2022        Seminar, Bionics Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
  • 04/2022        Guest lecture, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain, Belgium.
  • 02/2022        Guest lecture, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
  • 02/2022        Guest lecture, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
  • 12/2021        Guest lecture, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain.
  • 10/2021        Guest lecture, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands.
  • 10/2021        Guest lecture, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 07/2021        Guest lecture, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
  • 03/2021        Guest lecture, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 12/2020        Guest lecture, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain.
  • 06/2020        Guest lecture, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
  • 06/2019        Guest lecture, University of Michigan, Michigan, USA.
  • 06/2019        Guest lecture, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
  • 06/2019        Guest lecture, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA.
  • 03/2019        Guest lecture, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
  • 02/2019        Guest lecture, Uni. of North Carolina & North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, USA.
  • 08/2018        Guest lecture, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly RIC), Chicago, USA.
  • 03/2018        Guest lecture, Rigshospitalet – University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • 02/2018        Guest lecture, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
  • 02/2018        Guest lecture, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Ibaraki, Japan.
  • 01/2018        Guest lecture, Univ. of Applied Sciences for Health Professions Upper Austria, Linz, Austria.
  • 09/2017        Guest lecture, University of Monash, Melbourne, Australia.
  • 09/2017        Guest lecture, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
  • 04/2017        Guest lecture, Hospital del Trabajador, Santiago, Chile.
  • 03/2017        Guest lecture, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
  • 03/2017        Biomed series lecture, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada.
  • 11/2016        Guest lecture, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
  • 11/2016        Guest lecture, Univ. of Applied Sciences for Health Professions Upper Austria, Wels, Austria.
  • 09/2016        MedTech West Seminar, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 07/2016        Guest lecture, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
  • 05/2016        Guest lecture, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
  • 12/2015        Guest lecture, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
  • 12/2015        Guest lecture, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 11/2015        Guest lecture, University Hospital Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
  • 11/2015        Guest lecture, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden.
  • 06/2015        Guest lecture, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
  • 04/2015        Guest lecture, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, USA.
  • 03/2015        Guest lecture, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
  • 11/2014        Guest lecture, University Rehabilitation Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
  • 04/2014        Colloquium, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
  • 03/2014        Café-å-lär, Applied Physics Dept., Chalmers University of Technology (CTH), Sweden.
  • 07/2013        Workshop on Advances in Hybrid Organs (2nd), Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
  • 05/2013        Medical Physics (MSc course), Applied Physics Department, CTH, Sweden.
  • 04/2013        MedTech West Seminar, CTH, Gothenburg University (GU), Univ. of Borås, and VGR, Sweden.
  • 04/2013        Lunch Bunch (PhD seminar), Applied Physics Dept., CTH, Sweden.
  • 03/2013        Guest lecture, LIRMM, U. Montpellier and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France.
  • 03/2013        Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine (PhD course), Biomaterials Dept., GU, Sweden.
  • 10/2012        Graduate School (PhD seminar), Applied Mechanics Dept., CTH, Sweden.
  • 12/2011        Medical signals and system with electricity (BSc course), Bioengineering, CTH, Sweden.
  • ’15 –’21        Medicine for Engineers (MSc course), Signals and Systems Dept., CTH, Sweden.
  • ’12 –’21        Biomedical Instrumentation (MSc course), Signals and Systems Dept., CTH, Sweden.
  • ’11 –‘13        Biomedicine for Business Creation and Entrepreneurs (MSc course), Gothenburg Int. Biosci. Business School, GU, Sweden.
  • 02/2011        Biomedical Electromagnetics (PhD seminar), Signals and Systems Dept., CTH, Sweden.

Do you have any scientific questions?

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