Significant advances related to development of prosthetic devices have
been made in recent years, however, there is still a strong need to
develop assistive devices to aid in physical therapy, particularly for
patients suffering from head or limb injuries. The three main areas of
physical therapy include cardiopulmonary, neurological, and
musculoskeletal therapies. All three areas become important in
rehabilitation therapy for a veteran coping with a head or limb
injury. Development of assistive devices using a systems approach to
address the three primary areas of physical therapy could greatly
improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
RIT ME
Faculty Contributors
Dr. K.A. Lamkin-Kennard,
Assistive devices
Dr. Elizabeth DeBartolo,
Assistive devices
Dr. Risa Robinson,
Respiratory biomechanics
Dr. Steven Day,
Cardiovascular assist devices
Dr. Edward Hensel, Product
Development
Dr. Wayne Walter, Robotics
Collaborators
Rochester General Hospital,
Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine.
Nazareth College Physical
Therapy Department
Current Research Projects
Design and fabrication of robotic hand devices capable of
reproducing all of the motions of the human hand and fingers using
air muscles
Design and fabrication of a robotic hand device capable of
generating various levels of force
Kinematic analyses of human and robotic hand motions
Investigation of artificial muscles as actuation mechanisms for
biomimetic robotic devices
Investigation of various materials, such as electroactive polymers,
for use as artificial muscles or propulsion mechanisms
Design of a robotic elbow and wrist
Investigation of tactile sensing
Remote glove control of robotic hand devices
Analysis of biomimetic robotic devices at various size scales
Integrated, multi-scale physiological systems modeling and analysis
