Julia Costacurta, previous REU student in our lab, presented her research at an undergraduate symposium at Johns Hopkins University and won second place for best poster. 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. Congratulations Julia!
Orthoses
Karley Benoff named in the Husky 100!
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!
M Rosenberg, KM Steele (2017) “Simulated impacts of ankle foot orthoses on muscle demand and recruitment in typically-developing children and children with cerebral palsy and crouch gait.” PLoS ONE
Journal article in PLOS ONE:
Michael Rosenberg and Kat Steele investigate the impacts of ankle foot orthoses on children with cerebral palsy and typically-developing peers through simulation.
Background
Passive ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are often prescribed for children with cerebral palsy (CP) to assist locomotion, but predicting how specific device designs will impact energetic demand during gait remains challenging. Powered AFOs have been shown to reduce energy costs of walking in unimpaired adults more than passive AFOs, but have not been tested in children with CP.
Aim
The goal of this study was to investigate the potential impact of powered and passive AFOs on muscle demand and recruitment in children with CP and crouch gait.
Method
We simulated gait for nine children with crouch gait and three typically-developing children with powered and passive AFOs. For each AFO design, we computed reductions in muscle demand compared to unassisted gait.
Results
Powered AFOs reduced muscle demand 15–44% compared to unassisted walking, 1–14% more than passive AFOs. A slower walking speed was associated with smaller reductions in absolute muscle demand for all AFOs (r2 = 0.60–0.70). However, reductions in muscle demand were only moderately correlated with crouch severity (r2 = 0.40–0.43). The ankle plantarflexor muscles were most heavily impacted by the AFOs, with gastrocnemius recruitment decreasing 13–73% and correlating with increasing knee flexor moments (r2 = 0.29–0.91).
Interpretation
These findings support the potential use of powered AFOs for children with crouch gait, and highlight how subject-specific kinematics and kinetics may influence muscle demand and recruitment to inform AFO design. PDF
Jessica Zistatsis to Present at UW Medicine – Inventor of the Year Event
Tomorrow a group of esteemed faculty and students will present their work during the UW Inventor of the Year event at the Don James Center, Husky Stadium on November 15, 2016 from 5-7:30 p.m.
Samual Browd, Jonathan Posner, and Per Reinhall will be recognized for their collaborative work inventing and developing a football helmet designed to mitigate the forces thought to contribute to concussions. Jessica will be presenting a poster for her pediatric exoskeleton and competing in a lightning pitch competition.
UW Together – Featured Project
Here at the Ability & Innovation Lab we are fortunate to partner with amazing families and people who are our user experts for feedback and ideas when creating new devices and designs. Jayna and her family are fantastic partners in the design project for Jayna, alongside our undergraduate students. The second prototype is now underway to improve the comfort, donning and doffing, and applicability of Jayna’s elbow-driven device to enable the use of her left arm during two handed tasks.
UW Together presents Jayna’s story HERE.
