Rui Loureiro

Rui Loureiro is a full Professor of Surgical and Rehabilitation Engineering at University College London (UCL), where he leads the Department of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science and the Aspire Centre for Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology. Since 2017, he has served as Head of the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences and was appointed Research Director and Chair of the Research & Innovation Board at the NHS-led National Rehabilitation Centre in 2024. His work bridges advanced engineering with clinical applications, focusing on stroke rehabilitation, spinal/brain injuries, bionics, and assistive technologies.

Research Interests: Loureiro specializes in

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Robotics
• Artificial Intelligence for Rehabilitation
• Virtual and Mixed Reality in Healthcare
• Wearable Technologies for Pain Management

His publications highlight trends in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), edge computing for neurofeedback, and frugal medical device design. He advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration between engineers and clinicians to address global healthcare challenges.

Scientific Recognition: Loureiro has received prestigious awards including

• SET for Britain Young Engineer Award (2004)
• IET Emerging Technology Award (2023)

He founded the International Consortium on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR) and regularly serves as a keynote speaker at global conferences.

Teaching Contributions: At UCL, he co-directs MSc programs in

• Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technologies
• Minimally-invasive and Virtual Reality Surgery

and teaches modules on virtual reality in healthcare and musculoskeletal biomechanics.