Team Researches Robotic Orthoses

A research team that includes engineers and students from Rochester Institute
of Technology are researching the use of physiological information, or
bio-signals, produced by the human body, to improve the performance of
external assistive devices, called orthoses, that help patients with physical
disabilities, such as strokes or major spinal cord injuries, regain the use
of their arms and legs.  

"The data collected through this project will assist designers and engineers
in developing more sophisticated assistive aids for individuals suffering
from various neuromuscular diseases and musculoskeletal injuries," says
Edward Brown, assistant professor of electrical engineering at RIT and
director of the Biomechatronics Learning Laboratory." 

According to Brown, patients with muscular dystrophy have extremely weak
muscles that waste away over time. These individuals experience difficulties
in the simplest of tasks, such as picking up a cup or holding a spoon. A
robotic orthosis that takes advantage of the individual's residual strength
and any remaining physiological information in their limbs, such as an
electromyographic signal produced in muscles, could ultimately assist
muscular dystrophy patients regain significant use of their limbs.  

"Better orthotic technologies could ultimately help people suffering from
this disease greatly enhance the quality of their life," Brown says.  

Researchers in the Biomechatronic Learning Laboratory are currently studying
individuals with healthy muscles to develop a baseline, and then plan to test
their robotic system on patients currently suffering from muscular dystrophy.
The results from the project will be used to enhance the development of
orthotics technologies and also contribute to the broader field of
rehabilitation robotics, including the creation of better prosthetic limbs. 

Links:
Rochester Institute of Technology
http://www.rit.edu/

Edward Brown
http://www.rit.edu/kgcoe/electrical/people/faculty.html#brown

Robotics Research: Enhancing the Lives of People with Disabilities
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807130913.htm
http://www.rit.edu/news/?r=46252

Robots may enhance disabled people's lives
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/08/11/Robots_may_enhance_disabled_peoples_lives/UPI-67721218461574/