Bioengineers bring new hope for children with cerebral palsy

19 January 2026

Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The Challenge, Future of health and wellbeing

One in 500 New Zealand children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Bioengineers are taking space tech and machine learning to understand how to support these children to live their fullest lives.

Auckland Bioengineering researchers are using low-gravity tech from NASA to explore how to better treat children with cerebral palsy. Credit: William Chea
Auckland Bioengineering researchers are using low-gravity tech from NASA to explore how to better treat children with cerebral palsy. Photo: William Chea

Special feature

Read the story about how cutting-edge tools, once reserved for astronauts and data scientists, are reshaping rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy.

Auckland Bioengineering Institute researchers are blending physics, medicine and machine learning to understand how movement breaks down for those with cerebral palsy – and how to restore it.

Available for republication. Contact Gilbert Wong, gilbert.wong@auckland.ac.nz

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