Engineering Solutions for Children with Musculoskeletal Disease
Computer Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Bill Smart is part of a Washington University team that recently received a $200,000 grant from the Washington University Children's Discovery Institute.
Professor Smart will work with Eric Leuthardt, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Biomedical Engineering, and with Matthew Smyth, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, to develop neuroprosthetic solutions for children with cerebral palsy. Some of their research will build on previous work by Professor Leuthardt, where kids played a simple video game by using just their thoughts.
"The basic idea is that we're going to develop a system that will let subjects control an anatomically-correct robot hand using their thoughts," says Professor Smart. "We have access to kids undergoing clinical evaluations of epilepsy who have electronic recording meshes placed directly on the surface of their brains."
Musculoskeletal disorders account for substantial childhood morbidity and prevent children from leading normal lives due to impairments in daily functions. The ultimate goal of the project is to allow children with motor disorders, like cerebral palsy, to use robot prosthesis that will allow them to perform fine manipulation, or use an exoskeleton that fits over their own hand to reinforce and stabilize their own movements.
The project will examine the mechanisms of controlling a robot, using signals recorded directly from the human brain. The award is for $200,000 over two years, and the School of Engineering is funding an extra $100,000 to purchase a Shadow C3 Dextrous Hand. Washington University will be home to one of only four such hands in the United States, and the only one involved in this kind of research.
For more information on the Washington University Children's Discovery Institute, visit their Web site.
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