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Prof. Sigal Portnoy, PhD

Occupational Therapy Dept. (Room 318)
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
Tel Aviv University
Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978
Israel

Phone: +972-3-6405441
Email: portnoys@tauex.tau.ac.il

Short Biography:

Sigal Portnoy is an electronics engineer, who completed her M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies in Biomedical engineering at Tel Aviv University. In 2009, she constructed the Hadassah Gait and Motion Laboratory in Jerusalem, and she was the scientific director of the lab until 2017. She managed several researches that aimed to quantify the effect of different treatment methods and procedures on the movement pattern of patients with motor disabilities caused by neurological or orthopedic impairments. In October 2012, she has joined the Occupational Therapy Department at Tel Aviv University where she studies the different factors affecting motor function in healthy individuals and people with motor or cognitive disabilities. She also designs and creates computerized tools for evaluation and treatment of people with motor or cognitive disabilities.


Publications:

  1. Palevski A., I. Glaich, S. Portnoy, E. Linder-Ganz, A. Gefen. Stress relaxation of porcine gluteus muscle subjected to sudden transverse deformation as related to pressure sore modeling, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 128: 782-787, 2006.
  2. Gefen, A., Portnoy, S., Diamant, I. Inhomogeneity of tissue-level strain distributions in individual trabeculae: mathematical model studies of normal and osteoporosis cases, Medical Engineering & Physics, 30: 624-630, 2007. 
  3. Portnoy S., Yarnitzky G., Yizhar Z., Kristal A., Oppenheim U., Siev-Ner I., Gefen A. Real-time patient-specific finite element analysis of internal stresses in the soft tissues of a residual limb: a new tool for prosthetic fitting, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 35: 120-135, 2007. 
  4. Portnoy, S., Atlas, E., Gefen, A. Influence of bony prominence sharpness and underlying tissue stiffness on the susceptibility to pressure-related deep tissue injury: Biomechanical computer model studies, L’escarre [in French], Invited Paper, 36 (special issue on “Innovation and Pressure Ulcers”): 4-7, 2007. 
  5. Portnoy, S., Yizhar, Z., Shabshin, N., Itzchak, Y., Kristal, A., Dotan-Marom, Y., Siev-Ner, I., Gefen, A. Internal mechanical conditions in the soft tissues of a residual limb of a trans-tibial amputee. Journal of Biomechanics, 41: 1897-1909, 2008. 
  6. Portnoy S., Gefen A., Ohana A., Yizhar Z. A new system for monitoring gait training in infants with Down syndrome. Journal of Medical Devices, 3, 024501-1-024501-4, 2009. 
  7. Portnoy, S., Siev-Ner, I., Shabshin, N., Kristal, A., Yizhar, Z., Gefen, A. Patient-specific analyses of deep tissue loads post transtibial amputation in residual limbs of multiple prosthetic users. Journal of Biomechanics, 42: 2686-2693, 2009.
  8. Portnoy,S., Siev-Ner, I., Yizhar, Z., Kristal, A., Shabshin, N., Gefen, A. Surgical and morphological factors that affect internal mechanical loads in soft tissues of the transtibial residuum, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 37: 2583-2605, 2009. 
  9. Portnoy, S., van Haare, J., Geers, RPJ. (T), Kristal, A., Siev-Ner, I., Seelen, HAM., Oomens, CWJ., Gefen, A. Real-time subject-specific analyses of dynamic internal tissue loads in the residual limb of transtibial amputees. Medical Engineering & Physics, 32, 312-323, 2010.
  10. Elsner JJ, Portnoy S, Guilak F, Shterling A, Linder-Ganz E. MRI-based characterization of bone anatomy in the human knee for size matching of a medial meniscal implant. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 132(10):101008, 2010. 
  11. Elsner JJ, Portnoy S, Zur G, Guilak F, Shterling A, Linder-Ganz E. Design of a free-floating polycarbonate-urethane meniscal implant using finite element modeling and experimental validation. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 132: 095001, 2010. 
  12. Portnoy, S., Siev-Ner, I., Shabshin, N., Gefen, A. Effects of sitting postures on risks for deep tissue injury in the residuum of a transtibial prosthetic-user: a biomechanical case study. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 14:1009-19, 2011. 
  13. Portnoy S, Vuillerme N, Payan Y, Gefen A. Clinically-oriented real-time monitoring of the individual's risk for deep tissue injury. Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, 49(4): 473-483, 2011. Winner of the Nightingale Prize for best paper published in Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing in 2011.
  14. Portnoy S, Kristal A, Gefen A, Siev-Ner I. Outdoor dynamic subject-specific evaluation of internal stresses in the residual limb: hydraulic prosthetic foot compared to energy-stored prosthetic feet. Gait & Posture, 35(1):121-5, 2012. 
  15. Portnoy S, Schwartz I. Gait Characteristics of Post-Poliomyelitis Patients: Standardization of Quantitative Data Report, Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 56(7-8):527-41, 2013. 
  16. Portnoy S, Rosenberg L, Alazraki T, Elyakim E, Friedman J. Differences in Muscle Activity Patterns, Visuomotor Abilities, and Graphical Product Quality in Children Drawing Activities on Horizontal or Vertical Surfaces, Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 25(3): 540-547, 2015. 
  17. Portnoy S, Halaby O, Dekel-Chen D, Dierick F . Effect of an Auditory Feedback Substitution, Tactilo-Kinesthetic, or Visual Feedback on Kinematics of Pouring Water from Kettle into Cup, Applied Ergonomics, 51: 44-49, 2015. 
  18. Simana E, Simian SR, Portnoy S, Jaffe A, Dekel BC, Feasibility Study – Vitamin D Loading Determination by Ftir-Atr, Information and Control Systems, 3: 107-111, 2015. 
  19. Portnoy S, Frechtel A, Raveh E, Schwartz I . Prevention of Genu Recurvatum in Post Stroke Patients Using a New Orthosis, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 7(10):1042-1051, 2015. 
  20. Rabin A, Portnoy S, Kozol Z. The Association Between Visual Assessment of Quality of Movement and Three-Dimensional Analysis of Pelvis, Hip, and Knee Kinematics During a Lateral Step Down Test, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(11):3204-3211, 2016. 
  21. Rabin A, Portnoy S, Kozol Z. The Association of Ankle Dorsiflexion Range of Motion With Hip and Knee Kinematics During the Lateral Step Down Test, The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 29:1-31, 2016. 
  22. Levanon Y, Gefen A, Lerman Y, Portnoy S, Ratzon NZ. Key Strike Forces and High Level of Musculoskeletal Symptoms, Safety and Health at Work, 7:347-353, 2016. 
  23. Rand D, Ben-Chaim K, Malka R, Portnoy S. Development of Internet-based Tasks for the Executive Function Performance Test, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72: 7202205060p1-7202205060p7, 2018.  
  24. Portnoy S, Reif S, Mendelboim T, Rand D. Comparing postural control of individuals with chronic stroke to healthy participants: clinical tools and center of pressure movement. European Journal of Physical Rehabilitation Medicine, 53(5): 685-693, 2017.
  25. Portnoy S, Hersch A, Sofer T, Tresser S. Comparison of reaction time and center of pressure movement between paired-play and solo-play of a virtual reality game, Games for Health Journal, 6(3), 2017.
  26. Raveh E, Friedman J, Portnoy S. Visuomotor behaviours and performance in a dual-task paradigm with and without vibrotactile feedback when using a myoelectric controlled hand, Assistive Technology, 19:1-7, 2017.
  27. Dierick F, Dehas M, Isambert JL, Injeyan S, Bouché AF, Bleyenheuft Y, Portnoy S. Hemorrhagic versus ischemic stroke: Who can best benefit from blended conventional physiotherapy with robotic-assisted gait therapy?, Plos One, 12(6), e0178636, 2017. 
  28. Portnoy S, Mimouni-Bloch A, Rosenberg L, Offek H, Berman T, Kochavi M, Orman G, Friedman J. Graphical product quality and muscle activity in children with mild disabilities drawing on horizontal or vertical oriented tablet, American Journal of Occupation Therapy, A72(6): 7206205040p1-7206205040p7, 2017.
  29. Shoseyov D, Cohen-Kaufman T, Schwartz I, Portnoy S. Comparison of activity and fatigue of the respiratory muscles and pulmonary characteristics between post-polio patients and controls: a pilot study. Plos One, 12(7): e0182036, 2017. 
  30. Kaufman-Cohen Y, Friedman J, Levanon Y, Yaacobi G, Doron N, Portnoy S. Wrist plane of motion and ranges during daily activities, American Journal of Occupation Therapy, 72, 7206205080p1-7206205080p10, 2018. 
  31. Raveh E, Portnoy S, Friedman J. Adding vibrotactile feedback to a myoelectric-controlled hand improves grasping performance when online visual feedback is disturbed, Human Movement Science, 58:32-40, 2018.
  32. Raveh E, Friedman J, Portnoy S. Evaluation of the effects of adding vibrotactile feedback to myoelectric prosthesis users on performance and visual attention in a dual-task paradigm, Clinical Rehabilitation, 1:269215518774104, 2018.
  33. Portnoy S, Maayan C, Tsenter J, Ofran Y, Goldman V, Hiller N, Karniel N, Schwartz I. Characteristics of atactic and crouch gait in familial dysautonomia patients, Plos One, 13(4): e0196599, 2018. 
  34. Raveh E, Portnoy S, Friedman J. Myoelectric prosthesis users improve performance time and accuracy using vibrotactile feedback when visual feedback is disturbed. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, pii: S0003-9993(18)30367-8, 2018. 
  35. Kaufman-Cohen Y, Portnoy S, Sopher R,  Mashiach L, Baruch-Halaf L, Ratzon NZ. The Correlation between Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Symptoms and Joint Kinematics, Playing Habits and Hand Span during Playing among Piano Students, Plos one, 3(12):e0208788, 2018. 
  36. Raveh E, Schwartz I, Karniel N, Portnoy S. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Novel Gait Trainer in Increasing the Functionality of Individuals with Motor Impairment: A Case Series. Assistive Technology,31(2):106-111 , 2019.
  37. Karniel N, Raveh E, Schwartz I, Portnoy S. Functional Electrical Stimulation compared with Ankle-Foot Orthosis in Sub-Acute Post Stroke Patients with Foot drop: A pilot study. Assistive Technology. 4:1-8, 2019. 
  38. Ofran Y, Karniel N, Tsenter J, Schwartz I, Portnoy S. Functional Gait Measures Prediction by Spatiotemporal and Gait Symmetry in Individuals Post Stroke. Journal of developmental and physical disability. 1-12, 2019. 
  39. Issachar G, Bar-Shalita T,* Baruch Y, Horing B, Portnoy S.* Design and Verification of a Novel Subject-Specific Neurofeedback Evaluation and Treatment System. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 47(5):1203-1211, 2019.
    * Portnoy S and Bar-Shalita  T contributed equally to this work.
  40. Friedman J, Raveh E, Weiss T, Itkin S, Niv D, Hani M, Portnoy S. Method for Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback, Journal of Visual Experiments, 147:e59493, 2019.
  41. Shahar N, Schwartz I, Portnoy S. Differences in Muscle Activity and Fatigue of the Upper Limb between Task-Specific Training and Robot Assisted Training among Individuals Post Stroke. Journal of Biomechanics. 89:28-33, 2019.
  42. Kaufman-Cohen Y, Portnoy S, Levanon Y,  Friedman J. Does object height affect the dart throwing motion angle during seated activities of daily living. Journal of Motor Behavior. 30:1-10, 2019.
  43. Portnoy S, Barmin N, Elimelech M,  Assaly B,  Oren S, Shanan R, Levanon Y. Automated 3D-printed finger orthosis versus manual orthosis preparation by occupational therapy students: preparation time, product weight and user satisfaction. Journal of Hand Therapy, Invited paper to the special issue dedicated to Innovation, 33(2):174-179, 2020.
  44. Wattad R, Gabis LV, Sheffer S, Tresser S, Portnoy S. Correlations between Performance in a Virtual Reality Game and the Movement Assessment Battery Diagnostics in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Applied Sciences, Invited paper to the special issue dedicated to “Applied Biomechanics in Sport, Rehabilitation and Ergonomy”, 10(3): 833-840, 2020.
  45. Kaufman-Cohen Y, Levanon Y, Friedman J, Yaniv Y, Portnoy S. Home exercise in the dart-throwing motion plane after distal radius fractures: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, Journal of Hand Therapy, 19;S0894-1130(20)30075-2, 2020.
  46. Gabis LV, Shefer S, Portnoy S. Variability of Coordination in Typically Developing Children Versus Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with and without rhythmic signal. Sensors, Invited paper to the special issue of “Low-Cost Sensors and Biological Signals”, 20: 2769-2778, 2020. 
  47. Elkarif V, Kandel L, Rand D, Schwartz I, Greenberg A, Portnoy S. Kinematics following gait perturbation in adults with knee osteoarthritis: scheduled versus not scheduled for knee arthroplasty, Gait and Posture, 81: 144-152, 2020. 
  48. Keinan A, Bar-Shalita T,* Portnoy S*. An instrumented assessment of a rhythmic finger task among children with motor coordination difficulties. Sensors, Invited paper to the special issue of “Wearable Sensors for Human Motion Analysis”. 20: 4554-4563, 2020. 
    *T Bar-Shalita and S. Portnoy contributed equally to this work
  49. Mayer N, Portnoy S, Palti R,  Levanon Y. The efficacy of telerehabilitation program for improving upper limb function among adults following elbow fractures: a pilot study, Applied Sciences,  Invited paper to the special issue of "Telerehabilitation Robotics", 11(4): 1708-1717, 2021.
  50. Elkarif V, Kandel L, Rand D, Schwartz I, Greenberg A, Portnoy S. Muscle activity while ambulating on stairs and slope individuals, scheduled versus non-scheduled to knee arthroplasty, and healthy controls, Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 52: 1-6, 2021.
  51. Mahpari V, Levanon Y, Kaufman-Cohen Y, Zilberman M, Portnoy S. Internal Mechanics of a Subject-Specific Wrist in the Sagittal versus Dart Throwing Motion Plane in Adult and Elder Models: Finite Element Analyses, Applied Sciences, Invited paper to the special issue of "Applied Biomechanics in Sport, Rehabilitation and Ergonomy Ⅱ", 11, 5275-5285, 2021.
  52. Haimovich Y, Hershkovich O, Portnoy S, Schwartz I, Lotan R. Evaluating Lower Limb Kinematics Using Microsoft’s Kinect: A Simple, Novel Method, Physiotherapy Canada, 73(4): 391-400, 2021.
  53. Elkarif V, Kandel L, Rand D, Schwartz I, Greenberg A, Gurion R, Portnoy S. Comparison of the kinematics following gait perturbation in individuals who did or did not undergo total knee replacement, Applied Sciences, 11(16): 7453-7464, 2021.
  54. Ofran Y, Schwartz I, Shabat S, Seyres M, Karniel N, Portnoy S. Falls in post-polio patients: prevalence and risk factors, Biology, Invited paper to the special issue of "Human Bodywork: Applications in Health, Disease, and Rehabilitation", 10: 1110-1118, 2021.
  55. Portnoy S, Cohen S, Ratzon NZ. Correlations between body postures and musculoskeletal pain in guitar players, Plos One, 17(1): e0262207, 2021.
  56. Nadler Tzadok Y, Eliav R, Portnoy S, Rand D. Establishing validity of the internet-based bill-paying task to assess executive function deficits in adults with traumatic brain injury, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76(4): 1-10, 2022. 
  57. Shabat S, Meiner Z, Tsenter J, Schwartz I, Portnoy S. Correlations between electro-diagnostic findings, the severity of initial infection, and the rehabilitation outcomes among COVID-19 patients, Biology,  Invited paper to the special issue of "Human Bodywork: Applications in Health, Disease, and Rehabilitation, 11(2):277-287, 2022.
  58. Schwartz I, Safran O, Karniel N, Abel M, Berko A, Seyres M, Tsoar T, Portnoy S. Positive effect of manipulated virtual kinematic intervention in individuals with traumatic stiff shoulder: Pilot study, Journal of Clinical Medicine, special issue of “Recent Progress in Rehabilitation Medicine”. 11: 3919-3928, 2022.
  59. Dahan H, Stern H, Bitan N, Bouzovkin A, Levanovsky M, Portnoy S. Construction of a haptic-based virtual reality evaluation of discrimination of stiffness and texture, Cogent Engineering, 9(1): 1-10, 2022.
  60. Schwartz I, Ofran Y, Karniel N, Seyers M, Portnoy S. Step length asymmetry may predict rehabilitation length in subacute post stroke patients, Symmetry, 14: 1995-2003, 2022. 
  61. Abu-Ata A, Green D, Sopher R, Portnoy S, Ratzon NZ, Upper limb kinematics of handwriting among children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder, Sensors, Special issue “Biomedical Sensing for Human Motion Monitoring”, 22, 9224-9240, 2022. 
  62. Schwartz I, Ofran Y, Bernovsky S, Kandel L, Rivkin G, Karniel N, Seyres M, Portnoy S. Cushioned footwear effect on pain and gait characteristics of individuals with knee osteoarthritis: A double-blinded 3-months intervention study, Sensors, 23, 1375-1385, 2023.
  63. Lugassy D, Khalaily M, Shely A, Levanon Y, Portnoy S, Brosh T, Turbine effect on dental students’ lateral pinch modulation and performances, Occupational Medicine, Accepted, 2023
  64. Karniel N, Shimon E, Gemer N, Zivion R, Portnoy S, Age-related cognitive bias in assessing lateral pinch modulation by occupational therapists, Sensors, 23(18), 7747-7758, 2023.
  65. Abu Rass S, Cohen O, Bareli E, Portnoy S, Comparing Performance and Preference of Visually-Impaired Individuals in Object Localization: Tactile, Verbal, and Sonification Cueing Modalities, Technologies, 11, 127-137, 2023.

Chapters in Books:

  1.  Portnoy S, Shabshin N, Siev-Ner I, Kristal A, Gefen A. MRI integrated with computational methods for determining internal soft tissue loads as related to chronic wounds, Bioengineering Research of Chronic Wounds, 2009. ISBN: 978-3-642-00533-6
  2. Portnoy S, Siev-Ner I, Yizhar Z, Shabshin N, Seelen H, Oomens C, Gefen A. Course of soft tissue injuries in the transtibial amputation residuum, The Pathomechanics of Tissue Injury and Disease, and the Mechanophysiology of Healing, 2009: ISBN: 978-81-308-0314-2.
  3. Portnoy S, Gefen A. Patient-specific modeling of subjects with a lower limb amputation, Patient-Specific Modeling in Tomorrow's Medicine, 2011.