The future of trauma recovery with the Royal Society and the Invictus Games Foundation

Join world-leading experts in trauma recovery and individuals who have experienced its mental and physical consequences for a special conference by the Royal Society and the Invictus Games Foundation (IGF).

The collaboration brings together leading figures from academia, industry, the NHS, armed forces and voluntary sector for a one-day event on Wednesday 4 March at the Royal Society (6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG).

It will highlight cutting-edge research set to transform the lives of people after life-changing injury, and bring together the experiences of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, researchers and health workers to discuss how developments should be prioritised in future.

Speakers include:

• Dr Anders Sørensen, University of Southern Denmark, demonstrating how simple robots can make physical rehabilitation more accessible and effective.
• Professor Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford, exploring how virtual reality could transform the way that some mental health conditions are treated
• Dr Oliver Armitage, of tech company BIOS, explaining how a “USB port for the body” could give prosthetic limb users finer control and sensitivity.

David Henson MBE, a trustee of the Invictus Games Foundation, will also give a keynote address. Since being injured serving in Afghanistan he has won medals at the Invictus Games, IPC World Championships and Summer Paralympics and is currently completing a PhD in Biomechanics at Imperial College London.

He will share how his experiences as a double lower limb amputee, along with fellow wounded services personnel, are informing research and treatment.

“I felt, in the 21st century, a prosthetic leg should be better than what we’ve been given, and with my background in engineering, felt I could try my hand at making things a bit better,” Mr Henson said of his decision to go into research. “There are exciting developments, including a military trial in osteo-integrated prosthetics – where a titanium rod fits directly into the bone taking away the need for a socket and potentially avoiding some problems of pressure sores and comfort.

“As the results of these trials filter down to the NHS, hopefully the option to have these procedures will become much more widespread.”

Armed forces veterans have a long history in helping drive advances in medicine and surgery. Many of these, from life-saving blood transfusions and limb salvage procedures, are now firmly established in clinical practice.

Dominic Reid, CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Royal Society on this important conference on trauma recovery. As well as overseeing the delivery and development of the Invictus Games to support the recovery pathways for the Servicemen and women we work with, the Invictus Games Foundation also seeks to share best practice and foster greater international collaboration around recovery and rehabilitation. We know that many of the advances in medical care are driven by innovations from the military sector, and we are keen to explore further how researchers from the two sectors can collaborate and learn from each other.”