Chicago_Electrical_Trauma_Rehabilitation_Institute Knowpia

The Chicago Electrical Trauma Rehabilitation Institute (CETRI), located in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in 2009 by a group of scientists and physicians that had collaborated for more than 20 years to better understand and treat electrical injury patients. These collaborators were members of the faculty of four major medical centers in Chicago. Over the years, this multi-institution research team have published more than 120 scientific articles and three textbooks on the topic of electrical injury and have evaluated many electrical shock survivors. Some important discoveries made by this team are that electrical shock injury is mediated by multiple mechanisms including non-thermal electrical forces, which many electrical shock survivors develop neuropsychological problems even if the current never passed through the brain and progressive peripheral pain and sleeplessness often adds to the disability. However, some electrical shock survivors do not manifest these problems.^[1]

CETRI's fundamental goal is to help survivors of electrical shock injury achieve successful recovery through research development and multidisciplinary care.

Mission and history edit

CETRI's mission is to promote recovery of individuals affected by electric injury while simultaneously advancing the understanding of tissue injury patterns associated with electric shock injuries. Its scientists and clinicians evaluate electrical shock survivors, then communicate with the medical providers in the patients community to optimize rehabilitation. Electrical shock injury is a complex multi-physical trauma that results in a range of clinical manifestations that differ from patient to patient. The explanation for this is one of CETRI's priority research focus areas. CETRI's research is funded by a both federal, private research agencies as well as public foundations. CETRI's publications are highly referenced in the scientific community and by trade magazines.^[2]

Research Scope edit

Understanding the Connection Between Electrical Shock and Subsequent Neuromuscular Disorders

One of CETRI's primary research goals is to understand the connection between electrical shock injury and the delayed onset of specific symptoms. These manifestations are typically related to neuromuscular pain and/or disability. CETRI's research priority is understanding the preinjury factors that predispose someone to neuromuscular problems and determining effective therapies to mitigate this.

Optimal Physical Therapy Approaches to Recovering From Electrical Shock Injury

Neuromuscular retraining is an important aspect of successfully recovering from all forms of physical trauma, especially those that damage nerves and skeletal muscle. Proper healing and neuromuscular adaptation are important for a successful recovery. A fundamental priority for CETRI is to learn how best to maximize functional sensory and motor recovery following electrical shock injury.

Neuropsychological Sequelae of Electrical Shock Injury

Over the past 30 years, CETRI has performed multidisciplinary clinical evaluations on hundreds of electrical shock survivors that contacted CETRI because of clinical complaints after surviving electrical shock. CETRI is working to parameterize and analyze the factors linking electrical shock and neuropsychological disorders.