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Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Frostflex, Isaac Edmondson, Caleb Edmondson, Joey Esker, Nadine Salem
Frostflex, Isaac Edmondson, Caleb Edmondson, Joey Esker, Nadine Salem
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Research has shown that the majority of heat lost during physical exercise leaves the body through the hands, feet, and the face. Our design project seeks to develop cooling glove technology to increase the rate at which heat leaves the body during recovery from physical exertion. The goal of this project was to investigate different ways in which heat absorption through various mediums can be manipulated and scaled into an adaptable, flexible design in which athletes of all levels, from recreational to professional, can improve their physical performance with the use of our gloves. Deliverables include a functional prototype, product …
Manual Material Handling Lift-Assist System For Occupational Exoskeleton, Erik Goes, Daniel Guthrie, Trevor Ward
Manual Material Handling Lift-Assist System For Occupational Exoskeleton, Erik Goes, Daniel Guthrie, Trevor Ward
Honors Capstones
It is no secret that lifting heavy objects is one of the premier causes of workplace injury, and the modern worker needs help to remain healthy. Workers need something they always have with them that makes their work safer as well as easier; our solution is an active lift-assist exoskeleton. The proposed exoskeleton design includes a military backpack exoskeleton frame, on which two actuators pull cables attached to end effectors that the operator will be holding. This system can adjust to conform to a wide variety of operator sizes, without restricting any of their range of motion. This leads to …
Developing New Crutch Tip Design For Overall Increased Stability And Improved Movement On Different Terrains, Lauren Skinner
Developing New Crutch Tip Design For Overall Increased Stability And Improved Movement On Different Terrains, Lauren Skinner
Honors Theses
Crutches are a mobility assistive device that are often used in various situations, such as post- surgical rehabilitation and recovery after injury. The current crutch tip design that is used on today’s crutches are often unstable and do not provide quality movement on different terrains, such as snow, ice, mud, and wet surfaces. These problems would be solved with a new tip design that could be attached to existing crutches or manufactured with the crutch itself. The team’s solution to this problem is a crutch tip with modular parts. The tip would attach to the shaft of the crutch like …
Novel Mobility Device For Conjoined Twins, Allyson Bowgren
Novel Mobility Device For Conjoined Twins, Allyson Bowgren
Honors Capstones
This project provides a solution to a problem proposed by a pair of conjoined clients. With their desire to become fully independent, the clients need an improved mobility device. Being joined at the head, moving around was always difficult for them and their situation did not get any better after an accident left one of them immobile. Their current device was a decent and quick solution at the time it was first needed. However, since its conception the device quickly became obsolete, and they are now in need of a more effective device that allows them to travel easier. This …
Neuromuscular Reflex Control For Prostheses And Exoskeletons, Sandra K. Hnat
Neuromuscular Reflex Control For Prostheses And Exoskeletons, Sandra K. Hnat
ETD Archive
Recent powered lower-limb prosthetic and orthotic (P/O) devices aim to restore legged mobility for persons with an amputation or spinal cord injury. Though various control strategies have been proposed for these devices, specifically finite-state impedance controllers, natural gait mechanics are not usually achieved. The goal of this project was to invent a biologically-inspired controller for powered P/O devices. We hypothesize that a more muscle-like actuation system, including spinal reflexes and vestibular feedback, can achieve able-bodied walking and also respond to outside perturbations. The outputs of the Virtual Muscle Reflex (VMR) controller are joint torque commands, sent to the electric motors …
Design And Control Of A Powered Rowing Machine With Programmable Impedance, Jose Humberto De La Casas Zolezzi
Design And Control Of A Powered Rowing Machine With Programmable Impedance, Jose Humberto De La Casas Zolezzi
ETD Archive
Due to the rise of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, research in human performance and physical activity has received increased attention. Rowing machines are used for performance improvements through concentric exercises, however a combination of concentric and eccentric actions is known to improve the effectiveness of training. In this work, a conventional rowing machine was modified to include an electric motor and a robust impedance control system, enabling programmable impedance with concentric and eccentric capabilities. Eccentric exercises are known to contribute significantly to the efficacy of training and to diminish the detrimental effects of humans operating in microgravity for long …