Rehab Robots

By Rob Cahill

While it doesn’t look like R2-D2 or the other robotic stars of the silver screen, an assistive robotic device designed and built by Rice undergraduate engineering students to help stroke and spinal cord injury survivors could be an even bigger hit.

The Rice team built the robot to perform everyday tasks for patients recovering from diseases that affect motor skills and to give the patients exercise in the process. Armed with a scissorlike claw, the remote-controlled prototype can rove about and perform a variety of functions, including moving a glass of water or snatching a pen off the floor.

Working at Rice’s new Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen under adviser Marcia O’Malley, assistant professor in mechanical engineering and materials science, the Rice team included bioengineering students Christine Moran ’09 and Austin Mueller ’09 and mechanical engineering students Claire Krebs ’09, Beth Rowan ’09 and David Meyer ’10.

To manipulate their remote-controlled robot, Rice team members use an instrument designed by O’Malley called an exoskeleton. In a rehab setting, this device would be attached to one of the patient’s arms. Using the exoskeleton could help patients build endurance by gradually increasing their range of motion and the amount of exertion required to operate the robot.

Before the students started the project, they conferred with people recovering from stroke or spinal cord injuries at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, Memorial Hermann, a rehabilitation hospital in the Texas Medical Center, and with the physical therapists who care for these patients.

Learn more at ricemagazine.info/29The prototype rolls on treads similar to those on a tank and is less than 20 inches tall and about 18 inches by 18 inches at the base. It is equipped with lifts designed to raise a grabber to the height of a table for access to glasses, utensils and dishes, which is no easy task since its maximum height is around 3 feet.

Tests are being planned to see how well the prototypes work on patients in a real-world environment.