Ioannis Dimitrios Zoulias

I have focused my research on applying engineering techniques for better understanding the human brain and body, and using bio-medical engineering for improving the quality of lives of people living with disabilities.

Projects I have worked with included a virtual reality and robotic system which recorded brain waves from the user. The system made the user believe an illusion that a virtual body they saw in the virtual reality was really theirs. The goal was to understand better how human senses merge in the brain to create complex information.

In a project led by Prof. William Holderbaum at the University of Reading, I helped design a system that allows people with spinal cord injuries to stand up and exercise. People with paraplegia lose muscle and bone health on their legs over time which can leads to detrimental health effects. The system uses muscle stimulation and a system of sensors that helps the user stand up on their own; this exercise aims to help alleviate the health risks due to inactivity.

My wider research interests include virtual reality, robotics, biomedical and rehabilitation engineering, and brain machine interfaces.