Synopsis
Sigal Portnoy is an electronics engineer, who completed her M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies in Biomedical engineering at Tel Aviv University. Her area of interest during her graduate studies was to study the internal mechanical conditions of the residuum of transtibial amputation patients while walking or sitting for the prevention of deep tissue injury. She performed comprehensive computational finite element analyses that included patient-specific 3D modeling of the residuum, assessment of surgical risk factors and pathophysiological risk factors. Additionally, she designed and built a mobile system to monitor internal stresses in real-time and predict excessive dangerous loads during locomotion. The novel design, construction and utilization of the system, awarded her with the Arup prize for “Innovative Contribution to Applied Biomechanics/Biomedical Engineering” at the 8th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering in Porto, Portugal (2008). In 2009, she has constructed the Hadassah Gait and Motion Laboratory in Jerusalem, and she is currently the scientific director of the lab. She manages several researches that aim to quantify the effect of different treatment methods and procedures on the movement pattern of patients suffering from motor disabilities caused by neurological or orthopedic impairments. The effect of different orthotics and prosthetics, injections of Botulinum toxin, functional electrical stimulation, and more, are investigated using precise tools of motion capture and dynamic electromyography, adapted by Sigal to serve in her research. In 2012, she has joined the Occupational Therapy Department at Tel Aviv University where she continues her research.