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Physical Therapy for Cerebral Palsy (PT4CP): Deeper Look into Sensing

Last modified
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 - 17:05
In Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Scholars

Description

Cerebral palsy patients currently face a significant treatment gap, which in part has to do with the high cost of traditional treatment methods. Research has shown that cerebral palsy affects 1 in 323 children in the United States (CDC, 2018), 42% of which aren’t receiving the care that they need. The medical expenses needed for children with cerebral palsy are 16 times higher than other children, which could account for this high percentage. The summer research team aims to look into and develop low-cost technology alternatives that could supplement these children’s physical therapy from home. Building upon existing work on controllable gloves with fabric actuators, my peer researchers and I looked into efficient design changes that accomplish our goal (Polygerinos, 2013).

Based on a review of research papers, existing strategies for glove position control (Yap, Kamaldin, Kim, Nasrallah, Goh, Yeow, 2015), were paired with sensors that could be integrated into a low-cost version. Two different sensor types were chosen to be evaluated for their feasibility for our project: a commercially available glove controller based on a conductive-ink bend sensor, and a novel conductive textile. Analysis of the data demonstrated that the glove controller sensors worked well, better than the conductive textiles, as expected. The results indicate that the glove sensors worked best when bending them along a radius rather than at a joint since the signal is strongest when the sensors are bent consistently along the length rather than at a single point. Further research is needed to characterize the accuracy of the sensors, but they are ready to be integrated and tested with the other control aspects.

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Article

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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
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  • Article (1)

Collection Membership

  • Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Scholars (1)

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  • (-) Show all (1)
  • Sims, Dianna (1)

Subject

  • Show all (2)
  • cerebral palsy (1)
  • (-) physiotherapy (1)

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Olin College of Engineering

An undergraduate engineering institution exploring innovative approaches to engineering education since its founding in 1997.

1000 Olin Way
Needham, MA 02492
781.292.2390