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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Engineering Synthetic Feedback To Promote Recovery Of Self-Feeding Skills In People With Sensory Deficits Due To Stroke, Alexis Krueger
Engineering Synthetic Feedback To Promote Recovery Of Self-Feeding Skills In People With Sensory Deficits Due To Stroke, Alexis Krueger
Master's Theses (2009 -)
Kinesthesia refers to sensations of limb position and movement, and deficits of upper limb kinesthetic feedback are common after stroke, impairing stroke survivors’ ability to perform the fundamental reaching and stabilization behaviors needed for daily functions like self-feeding. I attempt to mitigate the negative impact of post-stroke kinesthesia deficits by evaluating the utility of vibrotactile sensory substitution to restore closed-loop kinesthetic feedback of the upper limb. As a first step, this study evaluated performance in healthy individuals during fundamental reaching, stabilization, and tracking behaviors while using supplemental vibrotactile feedback encoding either limb state information or goal-aware error information. First, I …
Characterization Of Histological Changes In The Microvasculature Of Rat Skeletal Muscle After Spinal Cord Injury, Sally Lin
Master's Theses (2009 -)
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are histological changes in the microvasculature of rat skeletal muscle following chronic spinal cord injury both above and below the level of injury. This study is important because microvascular structure likely impacts muscle performance and cardiovascular health. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only study to investigate microvascular structure within rat skeletal muscle after spinal cord injury. We hypothesized structural remodeling would occur in both the myofibers and microvasculature, which would then manifest in differences in myofiber cross sectional area and microvascular diameter, wall thickness, wall to …
Evaluation Of An Actuated Wrist Orthosis For Use In Assistive Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, Devon Holley
Evaluation Of An Actuated Wrist Orthosis For Use In Assistive Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, Devon Holley
Master's Theses (2009 -)
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological condition caused by damage to motor control centers of the brain. This leads to physical and cognitive deficiencies that can reduce an individual’s quality of life. Specifically, motor deficiencies of the upper extremity can make it difficult for an individual to complete everyday tasks, including eating, drinking, getting dressed, or combing their hair. Physical therapy, involving repetitive tasks, has been shown to be effective in training normal motion of the limb by invoking the neuroplasticity of the brain and its ability to adapt in order to facilitate motor learning. Creating a device for use …
Functional Comparison Of Conventional Afos With The Dynamic Response Afo, Mitchell Ruble
Functional Comparison Of Conventional Afos With The Dynamic Response Afo, Mitchell Ruble
Master's Theses (2009 -)
Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are commonly prescribed to provide stability and foot clearance for patients with weakened or injured musculature. The Dynamic Response AFO (DRAFO) was designed to improve proprioception at heel strike. The design includes a rigid outer shell with a cut out heel and a soft inner lining; it is typically aligned in plantarflexion and may incorporate external heel wedges. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the DRAFO design features and contrast its biomechanical function with that of conventional locked and articulating AFOs. The research hypotheses were: 1) DRAFO-assisted gait parameters (e.g. ankle …
A Principal Component Analysis Investigation Of Drop Landings For Defining Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk Factors, Emily Schaefer
A Principal Component Analysis Investigation Of Drop Landings For Defining Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk Factors, Emily Schaefer
Master's Theses (2009 -)
Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has been widely investigated through observational video analysis and laboratory based cadaveric, motion capture and computer simulation models. With the greater incidence of injury in the female population, recent emphasis has been placed on understanding ACL injury mechanisms in females. By using our understanding of injury mechanisms and prospective studies, injury prediction methods can be created. Once injury can be reliably predicted, training methods can be implemented to reduce likelihood of injury and avoid devastating consequences. There is a need for a reliable way to reduce motion capture data obtained in a laboratory …