Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Development Of A Closed-Loop Force Reduction Mechanism In A Gait Rehabilitation Device, Jeffrey Frankart

Theses and Dissertations

Elliptical trainers are prescribed in rehabilitative exercise but difficult to implement in populations with significant functional gait deficits. Typical elliptical machines do not mimic normal gait and therefore require modifications for clinical rehabilitation. This research builds on previous modifications of an elliptical trainer designed to simulate level-surface walking. This design differed from a commercial version. It included articulated footplates and an electromechanically-driven virtual-cam to control footplate position. Ankle dorsiflexion elicited lower-extremity muscle spasticity which produced an unwanted gait variant during stroke patient testing. Spasticity is a hyperexcitable stretch reflex causing inefficient gait. This project’s purpose was to develop an autonomous …

O&P, Arezoo Eshraghi

AREZOO ESHRAGHI

No abstract provided.

Upper Limb Orthoses, Arezoo Eshraghi

AREZOO ESHRAGHI

No abstract provided.

Virtual Reality Visual Feedback And Its Effect On Brain Excitability, Soha Saleh

Dissertations

This dissertation examines manipulation of visual feedback in virtual reality (VR) to increase excitability of distinct neural networks in the sensorimotor cortex. The objective is to explore neural responses to visual feedback of motor activities performed in complex virtual environments during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and to identify sensory manipulations that could further optimize VR rehabilitation of persons with hemiparesis. In addition, the effects of VR therapy on brain reorganization are investigated. An MRI-compatible VR system is used to provide subjects with online visual feedback of their hand movement. First, the author develops a protocol to analyze variability in …

Upper Extremity Rehabilitation Using Interactive Virtual Environments, Qinyin Qiu

Dissertations

Stroke affects more than 700,000 people annually in the U.S. It is the leading cause of major disability. Recovery of upper extremity function remains particularly resistant to intervention, with 80% to 95% of persons demonstrating residual upper extremity impairments lasting beyond six months after the stroke. The NJIT Robot Assistive Virtual Rehabilitation (NJIT-RAVR) system has been developed to study optimal strategies for rehabilitation of arm and hand function. Several commercial available devices, such as HapticMaster™, Cyberglove™, trakSTAR™ and Cybergrasp™, have been integrated and 11 simulations were developed to allow users to interact with virtual environments. Visual interfaces used in these …

Robotic Resistance Treadmill Training Improves Locomotor Function In Human Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Study, Ming Wu, Jill M. Landry, Brian Schmit, T. George Hornby, Sheng-Che Yen

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

To determine whether cable-driven robotic resistance treadmill training can improve locomotor function in humans with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design

Repeated assessment of the same patients with crossover design.

Setting

Research units of rehabilitation hospitals in Chicago.

Participants

Patients with chronic incomplete SCI (N=10) were recruited to participate in this study.

Interventions

Subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. One group received 4 weeks of assistance training followed by 4 weeks of resistance training, while the other group received 4 weeks of resistance training followed by 4 weeks of assistance training. Locomotor training was provided by …

Electroencephalography (Eeg)-Based Brain Computer Interfaces For Rehabilitation, Dandan Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies have been the subject of study for the past decades to help restore functions for people with severe motor disabilities and to improve their quality of life. BCI research can be generally categorized by control signals (invasive/non-invasive) or applications (e.g. neuroprosthetics/brain-actuated wheelchairs), and efforts have been devoted to better understand the characteristics and possible uses of brain signals. The purpose of this research is to explore the feasibility of a non-invasive BCI system with the combination of unique sensorimotor-rhythm (SMR) features. Specifically, a 2D virtual wheelchair control BCI is implemented to extend the application of …