International Seating Symposium 2027

The 40th International Seating Symposium (ISS) runs March 31 to April 2, 2027, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Pre-conference sessions are March 30. The exhibit hall is in Hall B/C on level two of the convention center.

ISS is the main clinical and research meeting for wheelchair seating, positioning and wheeled mobility. The University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology hosts it through its continuing education unit (RSTCE). Pitt describes it as the largest academic conference in seating, mobility and assistive technology. It began in 1982 and has run every year since.

The program mixes plenary sessions, instructional courses, research paper sessions and posters with a manufacturer exhibit hall. Attendees are occupational and physical therapists, assistive technology professionals, rehab engineers, complex rehab technology (CRT) suppliers, manufacturer clinical staff and researchers. A consumer day on March 30 opens the exhibits to CRT users and caregivers, per Mobility Management. The exhibit hall opens the afternoon of March 30, runs through March 31 and closes at 2:30 p.m. on April 1.

Manufacturers use ISS to put new seating and wheelchair products in front of the clinicians who specify them.

Registration notes: attendee registration opens in fall 2026. Abstract deadlines were September 18, 2026, for papers and courses and October 9, 2026, for posters. Pitt says it expects close to 2,500 participants and roughly 100 exhibitors; that is the organizer’s projection, not a count.

Prior-year facts: the 39th ISS ran March 20 to 22, 2025, also at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, with workshops on March 19. In 2026 ISS held a Virtual Professional Summit instead of an in-person symposium, which makes 2027 its return to a live meeting. We found no published attendance counts for 2025 as of 2026-10-30.