Dr Balasankar Ganesan

Balasankar

Position: Lecturer
Discipline: Occupational Therapy 
Location: Gippsland Campus, Room 5N-135
Phone: +61 3 5122 6526
Email: b.ganesan@federation.edu.au

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering – University of Technology Sydney, Australia – 2018
  • Doctor of Philosophy – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong – 2018
  • Master of Science in Occupational Therapy – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong – 2012
  • Bachelor of Occupational Therapy – The Tamilnadu Dr. MGR Medical University, Chennai – 2004
  • Diploma in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (DNYS) – Asana Andiappan College of Yoga and Research Centre, India – 2004
  • Foundations of Public Health – University of Wollongong, Australia – 2023

Teaching

Courses

  • Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours)

Units

  • Clinical Medicine for Therapy (NHPRH 2002)
  • Health Promotion for Health Professionals (NHPHS3403)
  • Advancing Professional Practice NHPOT4025

Biography

Dr. Balasankar Ganesan is an Occupational therapist and experienced professional with a diverse and extensive background in the fields of occupational therapy, biomedical engineering, and public health. He received his dual PhD (Biomedical Engineering) from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.

Dr. Balasankar Ganesan joined as a lecturer at Federation University in 2023. Previously, he worked as a Senior Lecturer at Institute of Health & Management, Australia, and has held research fellowship positions at various universities in Hong Kong, and Canada. His clinical, teaching, and research areas include physical and neurological rehabilitation, and digital health (3D, thermal imaging, virtual and augmented realities applications in the rehabilitation field).  Dr. Bala is an associate editor (Guest) and topic editors for Frontiers in Psychiatry and Frontiers in Psychology – Psychopathology section- journals.

Research interests

  • Digital Health
  • Aging and Geronto-Technology
  • Stroke Rehabilitation
  • Falls prevention
  • Global Health and Rehabilitation
  • 3D and IR technologies-based Evaluation

Supervision

Available for supervision of masters and PhD students

Publications

  • Khan, M. J., Sayma, Ali, M. U., Ganesan, B., Hasan, S. M., & Winser, S. J. (2023). Estimated prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour among adults in Bangladesh: nationally representative STEPS survey, 2018. European Journal of Physiotherapy, 1-6.
  • GBD 2021 Rheumatoid Arthritis Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2023). Global, regional, and national burden of rheumatoid arthritis, 1990–2020, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Rheumatology, 5(10), e594-e610.
  • GBD 2019 IMID Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2023). Global, regional, and national incidence of six major immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: findings from the global burden of disease study 2019. EClinicalMedicine, 64.
  • GBD 2021 Osteoarthritis Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2023).  Global, regional, and national burden of osteoarthritis, 1990–2020 and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Rheumatology, 5(9), e508-e522
  • GBD 2019 Meningitis Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2023). Global, regional, and national burden of meningitis and its aetiologies, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Neurology, 22(8), 685-711.
  • GBD 2021 Diabetes Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2023).  Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet.
  • GBD 2021 Low Back Pain Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2023). Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990–2020, its attributable risk factors, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Rheumatology, 5(6), e316-e329.
  • GBD 2019 Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2023). Global mortality associated with 33 bacterial pathogens in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet, 400(10369), 2221-2248.
  • Fong, K. N., Law, Y. M., Luo, L., Zhao, Z. E., Chen, H., Ganesan, B., ... & Shum, D. H. (2022). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an earthquake experience: A cross-sectional survey of Wenchuan earthquake victims with physical disabilities 10 years later. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 80, 103225.
  • GBD 2019 Adolescent Transport and Unintentional Injuries Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2022). Adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Public Health, 7(8), e657-e669.
  • GBD 2020 Alcohol Collaborators (B Ganesan). (2022). Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020. The Lancet, 400(10347), 185-235.
  • Lau, S. Y. J., Ganesan, B., & Fong, K. (2022). The Impact of Serious Games on Physical Activity, Cognitive Training and Mental Health for the Ageing Population During COVID-19: Implications and Future Trajectories. Journal of Global Health Neurology and Psychiatry, e2022007.
  • Khan, M. J., Ganesan, B., Fong, K. N. K., Yip, J., Hoque, M. F., Mahmudul Hasan, S. M., ... & Tong, R. K. Y. (2022). Factors predictive of Ponseti casting for treating clubfoot: analysis of Bayesian Poisson regression model. European Review for Medical & Pharmacological Sciences, 26(6).
  • Polašek, O., Wazny, K., Adeloye, D., Song, P., Chan, K. Y., Bojude, D. A.,… .Ganesan, B.,…. & Rudan, I. (2022). Research priorities to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in low-and middle-income countries. Journal of Global Health, 12.
  • Ganesan, B., Fong, K. N. K., Meena, S. K., Prasad, P., & Tong, R. K. Y. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on occupational therapy practice and use of telerehabilitation-A cross sectional study. European Review for Medical & Pharmacological Sciences, 25(9).
  • Ganesan, B., Al-Jumaily, A., Fong, K. N., Prasad, P., Meena, S. K., & Tong, R. K. Y. (2021). Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak quarantine, isolation, and lockdown policies on mental health and suicide. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 565190.
  • Ganesan, B., Prasad, P., Akter, S., & Tong, R. K. (2021). Common orthopedic problems in the foot and their implications for footwear design. In Handbook of Footwear Design and Manufacture (pp. 413-438). Woodhead Publishing.
  • Ganesan, B., Yip, J., Luximon, A., Gibbons, P. J., Chivers, A., Balasankar, S. K., ... & Al-Jumaily, A. (2021). Infrared Thermal Imaging for Evaluation of Clubfoot After the Ponseti Casting Method—An Exploratory Study. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 9, 595506.
  • Ma, A. W., Wang, H. K., Chen, D. R., Chen, Y. M., Chak, Y. T., Chan, J. W., ...Ganesan, B. & Fong, S. S. (2019). Chinese martial art training failed to improve balance or inhibit falls in older adults. Perceptual and motor skills, 126(3), 389-409.
  • Ganesan, B., Yip, J., Al-Jumaily, A., Fong, S. S., Kothe Balasankar, S., Ey Batlle, A. M., ... & Luximon, A. (2019). A novel 3D evaluation method for assessing bone to bone relationships in clubfoot. European Review for Medical & Pharmacological Sciences, 23(5).
  • Ganesan, B., Gowda, T., Al-Jumaily, A., Fong, K. N. K., Meena, S. K., & Tong, R. K. Y. (2019). Ambient assisted living technologies for older adults with cognitive and physical impairments: a review. European review for medical and pharmacological sciences.
  • Wong, T. K., Ma, A. W., Liu, K. P., Chung, L. M., Bae, Y. H., Fong, S. S., ...Ganesan, B., & Wang, H. K. (2019). Balance control, agility, eye–hand coordination, and sport performance of amateur badminton players: A cross-sectional study. Medicine, 98(2).
  • Man, D. W., Ganesan, B., Yip, C. C., Lee, C. O., Tsang, S. Y., Yu, P. W., ... & Shum, D. H. (2018). Validation of the virtual-reality prospective memory test (Hong Kong Chinese version) for individuals with first-episode schizophrenia. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 28(7), 1197-1210.
  • Ganesan, B., Luximon, A., Al-Jumaily, A. A., Yip, J., Gibbons, P. J., & Chivers, A. (2018). Developing a three-dimensional (3D) assessment method for clubfoot—a study protocol. Frontiers in physiology, 8, 1098.
  • Ganesan, B., Luximon, A., Al-Jumaily, A., Balasankar, S. K., & Naik, G. R. (2017). Ponseti method in the management of clubfoot under 2 years of age: A systematic review. PloS one, 12(6), e0178299.
  • Ganesan, B., Fong, K. N., Luximon, A., & Al-Jumaily, A. (2016). Kinetic and kinematic analysis of gait pattern of 13 year old children with unilateral genu valgum. European review for medical and pharmacological sciences, 20(15), 3168-71.
  • Ganesan, B., Al-Jumaily, A., & Luximon, A. (2016). 3D Printing Technology Applications in Occupational Therapy. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation -International,3(3), 1085.
  • Ganesan, B., & Luximon, A. (2015).  Common foot and ankle disorders in adult and children. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, 19 (2), 54-65.
  • Ameersing, L., Balasankar, G., & Abida, Y. (2015). Diabetic foot and footwear. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, 19(1), 1-10.

Refereed conference proceedings

  • Ganesan, B., Prasad, M. S., Yip, J., Kunnumpurath, B., Fong, K. N. K. The Use of Infrared Thermography in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review. 15th International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology (i-CREATe 2022): Hong Kong
  • Ganesan B., Choukou, M.A., Meena, S.K., & Raymond, K.Y. T. (2020). Telerehabilitation as an Enabler of Occupational Therapy practice in the era of COVID-19. Collaborating for Health and Wellness Virtual Research Conference, OCTOBER 1 – 2, 2020. At: University of Manitoba and School of Rehabilitation Science, University of Saskatchewan
  • Ganesan, B., Yip, J., Luximon, A., Choukou, M. A., & Al-Jumaily, A. (2020). Kinect-based 3D assessment for clubfoot deformity: an exploratory study. In Proceedings of the 11th Augmented Human International Conference (pp. 1-4). https://doi.org/10.1145/3396339.3396343
  • Ganesan, B., Luximon, A., Adel, A., Jiang, L., & Younus, A. (2016). Development of 3D depth image clubfoot model based on Kinect 3D printing technology. Textile Summit and Postgraduate Student Conference 28-30 Jun 2016, Hong Kong (Available online).
  • Luximon A., Ganesan B., Younus A. (2018) Effects of Socks and Shoes on Normal Foot Skin Temperature. In: Cassenti D. (eds) Advances in Human Factors in Simulation and Modeling. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 591. Springer, Cham. 9 (Available online).
  • Ganesan, B., Luximon, A., & Al-Jumaily, A. (2016). Thermography evaluation of clubfoot treatment by casting method - A pilot study. 37th SICOT Orthopedic World Congress, Italy
  • Zhao, K.W., Luximon, A., Ganesan, B., & Chan, C.K. (2015). A Composite Method for Human Foot Structural Modeling. Procedia Manufacturing, (AHFE 2015),3, 3759–3766. (Available online).
  • Zhao, K.W., Luximon, A., Ganesan, B., & Chan, C.K. (2014). A New Representing Method of Human Foot Anatomical Landmark and its Application in Foot Posture Data Acquisition. AHFE 2014, Krakow, Poland (Available online).
  • Luximon, A., Ganesan, B, Zhao, K.W., & Chan, L.K. (2014).  3D Functional Foot, AHFE 2014, Krakow, Poland. (Available online).
  • Feng,Q., Luximon, A., Ganesan, B., & Chan, C.K. (2014). Foot dynamic model for investigate foot motion during walking, AHFE 2014, Krakow, Poland (Available online).
  • Ganesan, B., & Luximon, A., and Wan, Y.Y. (2014). Designing footwear and braces for children with clubfoot deformity. 9th International Shibori Symposium 2014. (Available online).
  • Ganesan, B., & Luximon, A. (2014). Using 3D-Microsoft technologies in the construction of shoes in children with clubfoot. III International Clubfoot Conference, St. Petersburg, Russia.
  • Ganesan, B. (2013). Early Management of hypertrophic scar (HS) on the burned hand- Invited speaker at IFSSH & IFSHT conference, India 2013.

Books

Tong, R.K.Y., & B, Ganesan (Eds). (2024). Digital Technology in Public Health and Rehabilitation Care: COVID Era (In Press). Elsevier (In Press).

Book chapters

  • Ganesan, B., Palak P., Suraiya, A., and Raymond, K.Y.T. (2021). Common orthopaedic problems in the foot and their implications for footwear design. In Handbook of Footwear Design and Manufacture (pp. 413-438). Woodhead Publishing.
  • Ganesan, B., & Tong, R.K.Y. (2023). Historical Overview and the Evolution of Digital Health. In R.K.Y. Tong & B. Ganesan (Eds). Digital Technology in Public Health and Rehabilitation Care: COVID Era. Elsevier (In Press)
  • Zhang, J.J.Q., BAI, Zhongfei., GANESAN B., & K.N.K., Fong. (2023). Neurotechnologies for Poststroke Motor Rehabilitation. In R.K.Y. Tong & B. Ganesan (Eds). Digital Technology in Public Health and Rehabilitation Care: COVID Era. Elsevier (In Press)
  • Saghil, S., Rifai, C., & Ganesan, B. (2023). Recent trends and digital technology applications in lower limb injuries rehabilitation. In R.K.Y. Tong & B. Ganesan(Eds). Digital Technology in Public Health and Rehabilitation Care: COVID Era. Elsevier. (In Press)

Conference session chair/moderator

  • AH '20: 11th Augmented Human International Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - May 2020.
  • Conference Scientific committee secretary- 2022 : ICREATe 2022: The 15th International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology (i-CREATe 2022)- Hong Kong (December 2021- April 2022).

Scholarships, awards and grants

  • MITACS, Canada- Postdoctoral fellowship - 2020
  • FEIT PhD Post Thesis Publication Scholarship/Award - 2018
  • UTS International Research Scholarship - 2015
  • UTS President’s Scholarship (UTSP) Australia - 2015
  • UTS Top Up Scholarship - 2015
  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University PhD Studentship (2014-2018)

Professional associations

  • Individual membership- World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT)
  • Part 1 Registered Occupational Therapist- The Occupational Therapist Board, Hong Kong
  • Registered Occupational Therapist- All India Occupational Therapists' Association
  • Registered Occupational Therapist/ Member of Health Profession Council – United Kingdom (Registered OT in UK -45524)
  • Member- Hong Kong Occupational Therapy Association
  • Member- International Society of Global Health
  • Member- International Society for Virtual Rehabilitation
  • Member - Australasian Society of Occupational Scientists – Registered - 2022
  • Member - Australian Foot and Ankle Research Network- 2021