Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Volitional Control Of Lower-Limb Prosthesis With Vision-Assisted Environmental Awareness, S M Shafiul Hasan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Early and reliable prediction of user’s intention to change locomotion mode or speed is critical for a smooth and natural lower limb prosthesis. Meanwhile, incorporation of explicit environmental feedback can facilitate context aware intelligent prosthesis which allows seamless operation in a variety of gait demands. This dissertation introduces environmental awareness through computer vision and enables early and accurate prediction of intention to start, stop or change speeds while walking. Electromyography (EMG), Electroencephalography (EEG), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and Ground Reaction Force (GRF) sensors were used to predict intention to start, stop or increase walking speed. Furthermore, it was investigated whether …

Development Of A Novel Haptic Feedback System For Gait Training Applications, Mohsen Alizadeh Noghani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Until recently, study and correction of motor or gait functions required costly sensors and measurement setups (e.g., optical motion capture systems) which were only available in laboratories or clinical environments. However, due to (1) the growing availability and affordability of inertial measurement units (IMUs) with high accuracy, and (2) progress in wireless, high bandwidth, and energy-efficient networking technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), it is now possible to measure and provide feedback in real-time for biomechanical parameters outside of those specialized settings. To enable gait training without an expert who can provide verbal feedback, augmented feedback, which is divided …

A Biomechanical And Physiological Signal Monitoring System For Four Degrees Of Upper Limb Movement, Allison R. Goldman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A lack of adherence to prescribed physical therapy regimens in improper healing results in poor outcomes for those affected by musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper limb. Societal and psychological barriers to proper adherence can be addressed through the system presented in this work consisting of the following components: an ambulatory biosignal acquisition sleeve, an electromyography (EMG) based motion repetition detection algorithm, and the design of a compatible capacitive EMG acquisition module.

The biosignal acquisition sleeve was untethered, unobtrusive to motion, contained only modular components, and collected biomechanical and physiological sensor data to form full motion profiles of the following …

A Continous Rotary Actuation Mechanism For A Powered Hip Exoskeleton, Matthew C. Ryder

Masters Theses

This thesis presents a new mechanical design for an exoskeleton actuator to power the sagittal plane motion in the human hip. The device uses a DC motor to drive a Scotch yoke mechanism and series elasticity to take advantage of the cyclic nature of human gait and to reduce the maximum power and control requirements of the exoskeleton. The Scotch yoke actuator creates a position-dependent transmission that varies between 4:1 and infinity, with the peak transmission ratio aligned to the peak torque periods of the human gait cycle. Simulation results show that both the peak and average motor torque can …