J Wu, BR Shuman, BW Brunton, KM Steele, JD Olson, RPN Rao (2016) “Multistep model for predicting upper-limb 3D isometric force application from pre-movement electrocorticographic features.” IEEE Engineering Medicine & Biology

Example of ECoG recording during upper-extremity force production.

Peer-reviewed paper at IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Annual Conference:

Can we estimate upper-extremity force production from electrocorticographic recordings?

Example of ECoG recording during upper-extremity force production.Abstract: Neural correlates of movement planning onset and direction may be present in human electrocorticography in the signal dynamics of both motor and non-motor cortical regions. We use a three-stage model of jPCA reduced-rank hidden Markov model (jPCA-RR-HMM), regularized shrunken-centroid discriminant analysis (RDA), and LASSO regression to extract direction-sensitive planning information and movement onset in an upper-limb 3D isometric force task in a human subject. This mode achieves a relatively high true positive force-onset prediction rate of 60% within 250ms, and an above-chance 36% accuracy (17% chance) in predicting one of six planned 3D directions of isometric force using pre-movement signals. We also find direction-distinguishing information up to 400ms before force onset in the pre-movement signals, captured by electrodes placed over the limb-ipsilateral dorsal premotor regions. This approach can contribute to more accurate decoding of higher-level movement goals, at earlier timescales, and inform sensor placement. Our results also contribute to further understanding of the spatiotemporal features of human motor planning.

H Choi, TL Wren, KM Steele (2016) “Gastrocnemius operating length with ankle foot orthoses in cerebral palsy.” Prosthetics & Orthotics International

Example of gastrocnemius operating length from one subject with different AFOs.

Journal article in Prosthetics & Orthotics International:

How does the operating length of the gastrocnemius vary with different common AFOs in children with cerebral palsy?

Clinical relevance: Determining whether ankle foot orthoses stretch tight muscles can inform future orthotic design and potentially provide a platform for integrating therapy into daily life. However, stretching tight muscles must be balanced with other goals of orthoses such as improving gait and preventing bone deformities.

Work by Dr. Steele and Ben Shuman featured in The Daily news post

The team found that of the 473 children who had undergone surgery in their current study, those with higher Walk-DMC scores prior to surgery had better treatment outcomes, even after factoring in age and prior treatment.

The Daily, of the University of Washington, posted an article about Dr. Steele and Ben Shuman’s recent work on predicting cerebral palsy treatment outcomes based on motor modules, or muscle synergies. This work is in partnership with Michael Schwartz at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare.  An excerpt from the article is below. To read the article in full, click here.

Ben Shuman, a PhD student in the Steele Lab, smiles while working with electromyography equipment (EMG). Photo credit: Liam Brozik

 

Michael MacConnell, Bradley Wachter, CJ Smith, and Sasha Portnova Present at the Undergraduate Research Symposium

Undergraduate Research Symposium graphic displaying May 20th in Mary Gates Hall.

Our undergraduate researchers presented in Mary Gates Hall today, presenting their research from 11am-1pm. Member of the community, faculty, and staff stopped by to hear about Bradley and CJ’s work developing an open-source proximal control orthosis, Sasha’s wrist-driven, wrist-hand orthosis, and Michael’s work on ankle foot orthoses as a rehabilitation tool. Great job, everyone!

 

 

CJ and Bradley, members of our research team, discuss the outcome measures of their proximal control device with interested community members. Michael MacConnell, a member of our research team, shares his research with members of the community. Sasha Portnova, a member of our research team, fields questions from an interested member of the community about her wrist-driven, wrist-hand orthosis.

CL Bennett, K Cen, KM Steele, DK Rosner, (2016) “An intimate laboratory? Prostheses as a tool for experimenting with identity and normalcy.” CHI Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM

Prostheses from the 15th century (medieval metal hand) to the 21st century (3D-printed enable hand).

Peer-review paper at CHI Human Factors in Computing Systems Annual Conference:

Prostheses are more than just a tool to enhance function – they strongly influence perceptions of identity and normalcy.

Prostheses from the 15th century (medieval metal hand) to the 21st century (3D-printed enable hand).Abstract: This paper is about the aspects of ability, selfhood, and normalcy embodied in people’s relationships with prostheses. Drawing on interviews with 14 individuals with upper-limb loss and diverse experiences with prostheses, we find people not only choose to use and not use prosthesis throughout their lives but also form close and complex relationships with them. The design of “assistive” technology often focuses on enhancing function; however, we found that prostheses played important roles in people’s development of identity and sense of normalcy. Even when a prosthesis failed functionally, such as was the case with 3D-printed prostheses created by an on-line open-source maker community (e-NABLE), we found people still praised the design and initiative because of the positive impacts on popular culture, identity, and community building. This work surfaces crucial questions about the role of design interventions in identity production, the promise of maker communities for accelerating innovation, and a broader definition of “assistive” technology.

View the video for more information on this work.