Linamara Battistella
Linamara Battistella is a physiatrist and Professor of Physiatry at the School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo. She is President of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, and Head of the Department of Legal Medicine, Bioethics, Occupational Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She also directs the WHO Collaborating Centre for Rehabilitation and founded the Lucy Montoro Rehabilitation Network, part of Brazil’s SUS and an international reference in rehabilitation. She was the first São Paulo State Secretary for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, serving for 10 years.
The rehabilitated body: technology as an extension of life
Smart prosthetics, implants, wearable devices, and pharmacological advances are redefining the limits of physical and neurological rehabilitation. The body is no longer just treated but expanded, assisted, and, in some cases, reprogrammed. To what extent does technology act as a tool for inclusion and autonomy, and when does it begin to redefine what we understand as capability, normality, and quality of life?