Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Changes In Balance With Brain Inflammation: Sensitivity In Dual Motor Mechanisms, Hannah Mcdade

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Concussion assessment in athletes has gained prominence due to potential long-term consequences of traumatic brain injuries. Evaluating balance alterations is crucial for understanding post-injury motor control strategies. This study introduces a novel approach to understanding center of pressure (COP) dynamics during quiet stance tasks for assessing balance impairments in athletes recovering from concussion. Concussed athletes often experience impaired motor function and cognitive deficits, increasing the risk of orthopedic injury. Traditional balance assessments focus on total COP (COPt), overlooking nuanced hip and ankle mechanisms. This research investigates COP variations between constant loading (COPc) and variable loading (COPv) signals in concussed athletes …

Quantifying Balance: Computational And Learning Frameworks For The Characterization Of Balance In Bipedal Systems, Kubra Akbas

Dissertations

In clinical practice and general healthcare settings, the lack of reliable and objective balance and stability assessment metrics hinders the tracking of patient performance progression during rehabilitation; the assessment of bipedal balance plays a crucial role in understanding stability and falls in humans and other bipeds, while providing clinicians important information regarding rehabilitation outcomes. Bipedal balance has often been examined through kinematic or kinetic quantities, such as the Zero Moment Point and Center of Pressure; however, analyzing balance specifically through the body's Center of Mass (COM) state offers a holistic and easily comprehensible view of balance and stability.

Building upon …

Test-Retest Reliability And Minimal Detectable Change Of The Computerized Dynamic Posturography Proprio For Adults With Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury, Guilherme Manna Cesar, Thad W. Buster, Judith M. Burnfield

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Balance deficits after brain injury, including reactive recovery from unexpected perturbations, can persist well after rehabilitation is concluded. While traditional clinical assessments are practical, the anticipatory nature of the tasks may mask perceptible balance control. Computerized dynamic posturography can directly quantify capacity to respond to unexpected, external perturbations. This study examined the reliability of the computerized dynamic posturography assessment with the device PROPRIO® 4000 in adults with traumatic brain injury and created the minimal detectable change for its standardized test.

Methods: Ten adults (ages 21–55 years) with chronic (average 10 ± 6 years post-injury) severe (loss of consciousness 2–75 …

Feasibility Of Motor-Assisted Elliptical To Improve Walking, Fitness And Balance Following Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury: A Case Series, Judith M. Burnfield, Guilherme Manna Cesar, Thad W. Buster

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Walking, fitness, and balance deficits are common following acquired brain injury (ABI). This study assessed feasibility, acceptability, and usefulness of a modified motor-assisted elliptical (ICARE) in addressing walking, fitness, and balance deficits in children with chronic ABIs.

Methods: Three children (> 5 years post-ABI) completed 24 ICARE exercise sessions (exercise time, speed, and time overriding motor-assistance gradually increased) to promote mass repetition of gait-like movements and challenge cardiorespiratory fitness. Parents’ and children’s perceptions of ICARE’s safety, comfort, workout, and usability were assessed. Cardiovascular response, gait and balance outcomes were assessed.

Results: No adverse events occurred. Parent’s …

Open-Source Digitally Replicable Lab-Grade Scales, Benjamin R. Hubbard, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

This study provides designs for a low-cost, easily replicable open-source lab-grade digital scale that can be used as a precision balance. The design is such that it can be manufactured for use in most labs throughout the world with open-source RepRap-class material extrusion-based 3-D printers for the mechanical components and readily available open-source electronics including the Arduino Nano. Several versions of the design were fabricated and tested for precision and accuracy for a range of load cells. The results showed the open-source scale was found to be repeatable within 0.05 g with multiple load cells, with even better precision (0.005 …

Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Balance And Walking Improvements In An Adolescent With Cerebral Palsy (Gmfcs Ii) And Autism After Motor-Assisted Elliptical Training, Guilherme Manna Cesar, Thad W. Buster, Judith M. Burnfield

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Purpose: To quantify the impact of motor-assisted elliptical (ICARE) training on cardiorespiratory fitness, balance and walking function of an adolescent with walking limitations due to cerebral palsy.

Materials and methods: A thirteen-year-old boy with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Function Classification System II) and autism participated. Peak oxygen consumption (peak VO₂, primary outcome measure), oxygen cost of walking, Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS), modified Timed Up and Go (mTUG), 2-Minute Walk Test (2MWT), and gait characteristics (speed, cadence, step length, single support time) were assessed prior to and after completion of 24 sessions of moderate- to vigorous- intensity ICARE …

A Cost Effective Design For A Propeller Thrust/Torque Balance, Nicholas Barrett Sadowski

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wind tunnel balances are used with aircraft models, propellers, and components to measure applied forces and moments. The design and manufacture of a balance is often for a specific test, test article and conditions. This paper discusses the theory, design, calibration, and testing of a new small propeller balance for use in a low-speed wind tunnel. The new balance is named the ODU15X15.

Theory discussed herein covers how the two measurement components, thrust and torque, affect the balance design. These loads generate strains which are in turn read by strain gages arranged in Wheatstone bridges. The design follows well known …

A Monolithic Internal Strain-Gage Balance Design Based On Design For Manufacturability, Thomas Ladson Webb Iii

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This paper proposes an alternative approach to internal strain-gage balance design driven by Design for Manufacturability (DFM) principles. The objective of this research was a reduction in fabrication time and, subsequently, cost of a balance by simplifying its design while maintaining basic stiffness and sensitivity. Traditionally, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) balance designs have relied on Electro-Discharge Machining (EDM), which is a precise but slow and, therefore, expensive process. EDM is chosen due to several factors, including material hardness, surface finish, and complex geometry, including blind cuts. The new balance design objectives require no …

The Relationship Between Intermittent Limit Cycles And Postural Instability Associated With Parkinson’S Disease, James R. Chagdes, Jessica E. Huber, Meredith Saletta, Meghan Darling-White, Arvind Raman, Shirley Rietdyk, Howard N. Zelaznik, Jeffrey M. Haddad

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Many disease-specifc factors such as muscular weakness, increased muscle stiffness, varying postural strategies, and changes in postural refexes have been shown to lead to postural instability and fall risk in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recently, analytical techniques, inspired by the dynamical systems perspective on movement control and coordination, have been used to examine the mechanisms underlying the dynamics of postural declines and the emergence of postural instabilities in people with PD. Methods: A wavelet-based technique was used to identify limit cycle oscillations (LCOs) in the anterior–posterior (AP) postural sway of people with mild PD (n = 10) compared …

Functional Performance Differences Between The Genium And C-Leg Prosthetic Knees And Intact Knees, Michael J. Highsmith, Jason T. Kahle, Rebecca M. Miro, M. E. Cress, Derek J. Lura, William S. Quillen, Stephanie Carey, Rajiv V. Dubey, Larry J. Mengelkoch

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Microprocessor prosthetic knees (MPKs) have advanced technologically, offering new features to decrease impairment and activity limitations for persons with transfemoral amputation (TFA). The Genium knee is functionally untested, and functional differences between it and intact knees are unknown. This study sought to determine whether Genium use improves functional performance compared with the C-Leg. A randomized experimental crossover design was used, with a cross-section of five nonamputee controls for comparison to nor­mal. Twenty community-ambulating persons with TFA were trained and tested for accommodation with study components. All subjects (n = 25) were assessed using the Continuous-Scale Physical Functional Performance-10 (CS-PFP10) …

Method Of Tolerance Allocation To Maintain Rotary Balance Of Multi-Component Bodies, Lindsay Louise Rogers

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Vibration of rotating machinery caused by mass imbalance is the most frequent source of unwanted disturbing forces and also the most preventable. In the case of a CT scanner, unwanted vibration in the equipment causes artifacts to the X-ray image, and therefore all measures are taken to eliminate imbalance. The CT scanner is a multi-component rotating body, therefore making it a challenge to account for many discrete components, each with unique variation. This research developed the equations for static and dynamic balance including considerations for inertia. The variation of the components was studied using two models: a sensitivity analysis and …