Motivation/Research Goals of the UCI Biomechatronics Lab

Over 2 million people in the U.S. have movement impairment following a stroke.  Individuals are often weakened on one side after stroke ("hemiparesis") and have difficulty moving their hand, arm, and leg in a smooth, forceful, and coordinated way.  Despite the large number of people with such problems and the consequent demands on the health care system, it is not well understood how stroke limits movement and how the nervous system can best be assisted in overcoming these limitations.  Additionally, there is a lack of robotic/mechatronic technology for assisting in movement training and maximizing recovery.  The situation is similar for individuals with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and other neurologic disorders.

To address these needs, we are building robotic devices ("rehabilitators") that attach to patient's impaired limbs and mechanically interact with the patient during movement.   The devices sense limb movement and interaction forces, and apply therapeutic patterns of forces to the limb.  Using a variety of devices, we are characterizing the neural and biomechanical factors that limit movement.   Additionally, a key question is how mechanical manipulation of impaired limbs can be used to facilitate neural recovery.  Our ultimate goal is to provide cost-efficient devices that patients can use to exercise and optimize recovery on their own, and that clinicians can use to better diagnose and understand a patient's movement impairment.

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