Amina El-Zatmah presents at the CNT 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Amina is wearing the Biomotum Spark exoskeleton while standing in front of her poster at her CNT presentation.This summer, the Steele Lab hosted undergraduate researcher, Amina El-Zatmah, from Santa Monica College. She finished up her 10-week summer Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) by presenting at the 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium with the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT).

Amina gave a podium and poster presentation titled “Take A Step: The Effects of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation and Exoskeleton Use on Step Length for Children with Cerebral Palsy“.

Amina was supported through mentorship from Charlotte Caskey, Siddhi Shrivastav, Chet Moritz, and Kat Steele.

Way to go, Amina!

 

ASB 2023 Recap

Charlotte is wearing a striped dress and black blazer standing in front of her poster at ASB.Four members of our lab – Kat, Elijah, Charlotte, & Mackenzie – attended ASB 2023 on August 8-11 in Knoxville, TN.

Elijah Kuska gave a podium presentation on “The effects of weakness, contracture, and altered control on walking energetics during crouch gait.”

Charlotte Caskey gave a poster presentation on “The effect of increased sensory feedback from neuromodulation and exoskeleton use on ankle co-contraction in children with cerebral palsy.”

Kat Steele co-hosted a workshop on “Writing a Successful NIH R01 Proposal.”

ASB 2024 will be hosted August 5-8, in Madison, WI.

 

 

Elijah is wearing a striped polo shirt and giving a presentation in front of a group of people at ASB.

Switch Kit Workshop at Kindering

Mia Hoffman standing in front of a screen giving a presentation on the Switch Kits for digital play. In the foreground, there is a soft pillow and squishmallow DIY adaptive switch. Lab members, Mia Hoffman, Kat Steele, Heather Feldner and Katie Landwehr led a “Switch Kit” Workshop at Kindering in Bothell, WA.

The workshop aimed to teach Speech-Language Pathologists how to use a new system we have designed with the MakeyMakey for inclusive play options in early intervention. The team also got to try their hands at making their own adaptive switches out of pool noodles! Stay tuned for more on this project.

Slide titled "Development of a Switch Kit for Digital Play" by Mia Hoffman from the Steele Lab and IMPACT Collaboratory. A picture is shown of a stuffed animal playing a game on an iPad using the Switch Kit device

RESNA 2023 Conference: Mia Hoffman receives Student Scientific Paper Award

Nicole wearing a black dress and Mia wearing a floral dress standing in front of a large sign at the RESNA conference.Two lab members, Nicole Zaino and Mia Hoffman attended the annual Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Conference on July 24-26 in New Orleans, LA.

Big congratulations to Mia Hoffman for being selected as an awardee in the Student Scientific Paper Competition (SSPC).

Mia gave a podium presentation on “Exploring the World on Wheels: A Geospatial Comparison of Two Pediatric Mobility Devices

Nicole was also selected to give an interactive poster presentation on “Quantifying Toddler Exploration in Seated and Standing Postures with Powered Mobility“. She also completed her time as the student board member for RESNA.

Way to go, Mia and Nicole!