Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Engineering Research and Development: A Knowledge Ecosystem Framework

Rehabilitation engineering is concerned with technology innovations and technology-mediated treatments for the improvement of quality of care and quality of life of individuals with disability. Unlike many other fields of health research, the knowledge translation (KT) cycle of rehabilitation engineering research and development (R&D) is often considered incomplete until a technology product or technology-facilitated therapy is available to target clientele. As such, the KT journey of rehabilitation engineering R&D is extremely challenging, necessarily involving knowledge exchange among numerous players across multiple sectors. In this article, we draw on recent literature about the knowledge trichotomy in technology-based rehabilitation R&D and propose a knowledge ecosystem to frame the rehabilitation engineering KT process from need to product. Identifying the principal process of the ecosystem as one of knowledge flow, we elucidate the roles of repository and networked knowledge, identify key consumers and producers in a trinity of communities of practice, and draw on knowledge management literature to describe different knowledge flows. The article concludes with instantiations of this knowledge ecosystem for 2 local rehabilitation engineering research-development-commercialization endeavors.