Orthoses

Research Experience Undergraduates Present at CSNE

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This summer the Steele Lab had the pleasure of hosting three undergraduate researchers – Julia Costacurta from Johns Hopkins, Joe Lawler from the University of Washington, and Preston Pan from the University of Washington.

After a competitive selection process, students are offered a 10-week internship here at the University to work directly with a research lab on campus. One of the program’s final deliverables is a presentation of their work, both in podium and poster format, to members of the local and scientific community. Congratulations to Julia, Joe, and Preston for their successful time here in the lab, and for giving polished presentations.

Three undergraduates, in their early twenties, stand arm in arm as they smile for the photo. They are dressed in business casual attire and behind them hangs a series of scientific posters on biomechanics.

Julia’s work explored the impacts of Ankle-Foot Orthoses on transient gait, a period of walking where little is currently known about device dynamics.

Julia Costacurta and her mentor for the 2018 summer, Michael Rosenberg, stand in front of her scientific poster evaluating the impact of ankle foot orthosis stiffness on transient walking.Preston worked directly with Seattle Children’s Hospital to implement algorithms for detecting bimanual hand movement before, during, and after a common therapy used to promote improved motor skills for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Preston Pan, in a white collared shirt and blazer, stands in front of his scientific poster evaluated a proposed motion tracking algorithm for bimanual movement.

Joe’s focus this summer involved working with the University of Washington HuskyADAPT program. HuskyADAPT is a student-run program in its second year and stands for Accessible Design and Play Technology. Joe’s research question asked, how we can improve upon and further promote an inclusive and sustainable program for assistive technology?

 

 

Claire Mitchell, Karley Benoff, and Makoto Eyre present at the Mary Gates Research Symposium

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On May 18th, Claire Mitchell, Karley Benoff, and Makoto Eyre presented their research at the Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium. These three students worked on year-long projects and showcased their hard work during a campus-wide poster session.

Claire’s research focused on creating a website and server framework for clinicians and researchers across the country to use for calculating muscle synergies for motor control analysis. Muscle synergies are an incredibly complex and computationally expensive analysis of electromyography data but provide quantification of motor control and assist in therapy prescription for movement disorders.

Claire Mitchell, and undergraduate student in the Steele Lab, stands in front of her poster at Mary Gates Hall during the undergraduate research symposium. Claire is wearing a white and blue floral blouse. She is in the middle of describing her research project to four community members who have taken an interest in her research.

Makoto Eyre and Karley Benoff stand nearly back to back in front of their poster at Mary Gates Hall during the undergraduate research symposium. Makoto is facing to the left of the poster, and is wearing glasses, a white button up shirt and black slacks while conversing with members of the community outside of the images capture. Karley Benoff has shoulder length brown and blonde hair and is wearing a pink blouse while helping to fit a member of the community with her 3D-printed device at the elbow. Karley and the female community member are making sure the device's elbow joint is aligning well with the community member's elbow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karley and Mako’s research focused on designing and testing a 3D-printed elbow-driven orthosis for individuals with limited hand function. They drew inspiration from upper-extremity prosthetic devices and evaluated a voluntary close and voluntary open mechanism to assist an individual’s dominant limb.

Great work Karley, Mako, and Claire!

The interior courtyard of Mary Gates Hall has interior windows and a combination of new and old architectural elements. This is the location where hundreds of undergraduate presenters and community members discuss research accomplishments and next steps.

Karley Benoff named in the Husky 100!

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We are honored to have a 2018 Husky 100 member in our lab! The Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students from Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma in all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the UW. Read an excerpt of Karley’s application packet below to learn more about her involvement with HuskyADAPT, her research with orthotic design, outreach, and her studies. Congratulations, Karley!

H Choi, KM Peters, M MacConnell, K Ly, E Eckert, KM Steele (2017) “Impact of ankle foot orthosis stiffness on Achilles tendon and gastrocnemius function during unimpaired gait.” Journal of Biomechanics

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Journal article in Journal of Biomechanics:

How does the stiffness of an AFO impact the muscultendon dynamics of the gastrocnemius?

Abstract

Method combining ultrasound and musculoskeletal modeling to evaluate changes in muscle and tendon length.

Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are designed to improve gait for individuals with neuromuscular conditions and have also been used to reduce energy costs of walking for unimpaired individuals. AFOs influence joint motion and metabolic cost, but how they impact muscle function remains unclear. This study investigated the impact of different stiffness ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) on medial gastrocnemius muscle (MG) and Achilles tendon (AT) function during two different walking speeds. We performed gait analyses for eight unimpaired individuals. Each individual walked at slow and very slow speeds with a 3D printed AFO with no resistance (free hinge condition) and four levels of ankle dorsiflexion stiffness: 0.25 Nm / °, 1 Nm / °, 2 Nm / °, and 3.7 Nm / °. Motion capture, ultrasound, and musculoskeletal modeling were used to quantify MG and AT lengths with each AFO condition. Increasing AFO stiffness increased peak AFO dorsiflexion moment with decreased peak knee extension and peak ankle dorsiflexion angles. Overall musculotendon length and peak AT length decreased, while peak MG length increased with increasing AFO stiffness. Peak MG activity, length, and velocity significantly decreased with slower walking speed. This study provides experimental evidence of the impact of AFO stiffness and walking speed on joint kinematics and musculotendon function. These methods can provide insight to improve AFO designs and optimize musculotendon function for rehabilitation, performance, or other goals.

 

 

Daniel Ballesteros, Wing-Sum Law, and Claire Mitchell Present

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Congratulations to Daniel, Wing-Sum and Claire for their excellent work this summer. We had the privilege of hosting three undergraduate students through the Summer Scholars program through Co-Motion and the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering here at the University of Washington.

Daniel presented in Mary Gates Hall on his research involving the implementation of a pediatric exoskeleton into low-resource countries:

Daniel fields a question from a member of the University of Washington community during his poster session at Mary Gates Hall. Claire researched how varying muscles impact synergy outcomes:

 

Claire Mitchell presents her poster at the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering

 

Wing-Sum assessed the impact of an ankle foot orthosis on muscle demands in children with cerebral palsy and typically developing peers:

Wing-Sum presents her research during a poster session