Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

For research on walking and balance rehabilitation in patients suffering from lower-limb impairments, we propose to acquire a powered exoskeleton with functional electrical stimulation (FES). This consists of a battery-operated, wearable external skeleton that is strapped to or near the torso, the hip, the knee and the foot. As a patient uses walkers or forearm crutches to maintain balance, the powered hip and knee joints of the exoskeleton are moved under computer control to assist the patient to walk. To reduce the size, weight and cost of exoskeletons and improve the therapeutic outcomes for the patient, it is possible to use another input besides the powered joints of the exoskeleton in order to generate limb motion: FES in the form of low-level electrical currents that activate muscles and cause paralyzed leg muscles to contract and relax according to a desired timing. In this way, the human body will be moved by a combination of the exoskeleton power and the human muscle power. This not only results in additional gains in muscle strength and improves blood circulation, but also helps to design the exoskeleton to be more lightweight and easier to wear by choosing smaller electrical motors for the exoskeleton joints. The outcome of the proposed research will be innovative adaptable control strategies for exoskeletons that enhance physical activity and mobility for people with impaired lower limbs and help them to efficiently restore their walking and balance. The same equipment can support research on human motion analysis, the biomechanical effects of exoskeletons on humans, ergonomic design of exoskeletons, and human sensorimotor learning, just to name a few. The applicants come from electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, rehabilitation engineering and physical medicine and rehabilitation backgrounds and collectively have all the expertise necessary to advance not only the proposed research program but much beyond it. The impact of the requested equipment on the training of highly qualified personnel will be tremendous. It is anticipated that over the next 3 years, over 20 students will use this facility and receive training in a wide range of engineering domains including but not limited to kinematics and dynamics, robotics, biomechanics, wearables, control systems, signal processing and machine learning.