REU Summer Projects 2016
PROJECT: Feasibility of Microsoft Kinect for Assessment of Independent Wheelchair Transfers
The overall objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of using Microsoft Kinect, a low-cost, markerless motion capture system to track sitting pivot transfer motions and determine their measurement properties for potential application in a future transfer coaching system. The aims of this study are: 1. To identify Kinect measured motions that are reliable and consistent with motions measured by a 3D motion capture reference system (Vicon). 2. To explore the relationship between the quality of transfer skills and Kinect measured variables during transfers.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Engineering, Biomechanics, Mathematics
REQUIRED SKILLS: Microsoft Office, Matlab (or other basic programming skills)
MENTOR: Dr. Alicia Koontz, Lin Wei
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Transfer Bed Evaluation
The AgileLife Patient Transfer System (PTS) developed and commercially deployed by Next Health LLC is an innovative new device that offers a "zero-lift" solution for patients who are unable to independently transfer to and from bed. The AgileLife PTS consists of a fully powered hospital bed, a docking station, transfer system and a manual wheelchair. The goal of this project is to expand the product to accommodate bariatric individuals (e.g. persons that weigh over 250 lbs and up to 400 lbs) and add a tilt feature on both the standard (weight capacity under 250 lbs) and bariatric wheelchair models to accommodate individuals with postural repositioning needs. The new designs will be iteratively developed in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh. Eight commercial ready systems will be built that meet the user, technical and manufacturing requirements established by expert panel review, wheelchair standards testing, and in-lab evaluations. Eight subjects will be recruited for a field trial with the PTS. The bed component of the AgileLife PTS will be installed in their home and 6 weeks baseline daily transfer and bed activity (e.g. occupied/unoccupied bed time) will be collected via a data-logging system built into the bed.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Engineering preferred, specifically biomedical, mechanical or computer science/engineering. Other possible backgrounds possible but are not limited to: biology, rehabilitation science, kinesiology etc.
REQUIRED SKILLS: Experience in subject testing, data collection and analysis, and wheelchair standards. Experience in writing a professional paper to be submitted to a conference.
MENTOR: Dr. Alicia Koontz, Sarah Bass
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Caster Testing
Caster failures are dominant with wheelchair use in the community which necessitates caster testing to be conducted using appropriate test methods. The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) is planning to develop as caster test equipment and develop suitable test protocols that will need to produce field like failures on casters.
LEVEL: Advanced
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering
REQUIRED SKILLS: Development and testing of automated equipment, development of test protocols, technical writing
MENTOR: Dr. Jonathan Pearlman, Anand Mhatre
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Collaborative Design Review Research
We are developing a new web based peer review tool to help instructors of large engineering design classes effectively provide feedback to student teams on their design projects. As part of understanding the current practices in peer review, MEMS24 engineering class at Pitt was utilized as a research case study. Students in this class conducted peer reviews of each others' projects - resulting in a large data set of qualitative data.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Any
REQUIRED SKILLS: Research design and implementation, survey design and implementation, qualitative data analyses methods, working with human subject data.
MENTOR: Dr. Jonathan Pearlman, Mahender Mandala
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) Hybrid Training Program
The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) developed a Hybrid Training Program based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Wheelchair Service Training Package Basic Level (WSTP-B). The Hybrid Training Program reduces the common practice of 5 days in-person to 3 days by creating interactive training modules online of the first component of the training. So far, ISWP has tested 4 pilots and received feedback from each one. During the summer of 2016, ISWP will incorporate suggested materials by the trainers to launch the final version of the Hybrid Training Package and pilot it in July. Students will participate in data analysis of the three instruments used to evaluate the success of the Hybrid pilots: 1) the pre/post ISWP Wheelchair Service Provision Basic Test to measure the within-subjects impact of content knowledge; 2) a pre/post self-perceived confidence skills assessment, and 3) a post-questionnaire on efficacy and satisfaction of the training. In addition, they will compare the post test results between the control group (common practice of 5 days in-person) and the experimental group (hybrid training package). By the end of the summer, students will write a manuscript on the development process, the results obtained and the overall experience of their research summer.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Rehabilitation Sciences, Computer Engineering, Technology Education, bilingual in Spanish and English preferred
REQUIRED SKILLS: Time management abilities, planning and organizing, dedication and high attention to details, ability to be proactive and work independently. Adobe Captivate experience is preferred. Solid skills in Microsoft Office programs, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
MENTOR: Dr. Mary Goldberg, Yohali Burrola
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: High Efficiency Drive System
The high efficiency drive system uses a pneumatic system consisting of high-pressure air tanks and a pneumatic motor. Preliminary consumption tests have confirmed the feasibility of using pneumatic technology for traveling short distances as an alternative form of propulsion to traditional electric drive systems.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Mechanical engineering
REQUIRED SKILLS: Mechanically inclined, interest in engineering, and hands-on experience with mechanical systems
MENTOR: Dr. Rory Cooper, Brandon Daveler
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Training Programs for Wheelchair Users
The wheelchair is likely the single most enabling technology a clinician can provide but the impact is compromised when users are not trained in necessary skills to negotiate their environment, they have pain or injury to the upper limbs that prevent utilization, or the wheelchair itself does not work or fails before insurance is willing to replace it. We have developed structured programs to train end users in wheelchair skills, transfers, and wheelchair maintenance and are translating these programs to web-based modules that will be available to anyone with internet access. The goal of this project will be to assist with development and refinement of training programs to improve quality of life and participation of wheelchair users through increased ability to carry out the aforementioned skill sets.
LEVEL: Basic
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Biomedical engineering, rehabilitation science, disability studies, occupational therapy, or physical therapy
REQUIRED SKILLS: Excellent written and oral communication skills, desire to assist with training program and outcome measure development, interest in interacting with end users
MENTOR: Dr. Lynn Worobey
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Quantifying the Quality of Upper Extremity Movement During Wheelchair Transfer/Propulsion
Wheelchair users mainly rely on their upper extremity for activities of daily living, which has been linked with overuse injuries and pain in this population. Wearable sensors, especially Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), are increasingly being used to quantify the quality of movement in sports and rehabilitation. In this project, we aim to investigate the utility of wearable IMU sensors attached to different segments of upper extremity (trunk, upper arm, and lower arm) to quantify the upper extremity movements of wheelchair users during wheelchair propulsion and transfers.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering
REQUIRED SKILLS: Kinematics/Dynamics, Programming (e.g., Python, C++/C#, or Matlab)
MENTOR: Dr. Dan Ding, Akhila Veerubhotla
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Mentorship for Wheelchair Service Personnel
The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP), a network of international and regional partners dedicated to the professionalization of wheelchair (WC) services worldwide, hopes to provide the best training to rehabilitation professionals servicing clients using manual wheelchairs. Mentoring has shown to have an impact on the training and clinical practice of health and rehabilitation professionals; however, there is no exact protocol for mentoring wheelchair service personnel. The student, therefore, will help conduct a needs assessment of mentoring methods by interviewing potential wheelchair service mentees and mentors. Based on current literature and the outcome of the needs assessment, the student will develop a mentorship protocol. As ISWP is an international network, the student will then help develop an online platform to initiate and implement the protocol for remote mentorship and guidance. This project will promote the training of rehabilitation professionals in wheelchair services by the ISWP and ensure better outcomes of clients using manual wheelchairs around the world.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Rehabilitation Science, Disability Studies, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Kinesiology, and Psychology
REQUIRED SKILLS: Time management, critical thinking, written and oral communication skills, computer skills and familiarity with academic platforms such as Blackboard, CourseSites, etc.
MENTOR: Dr. Mary Goldberg, Alexandria Miles
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: 3D Printing Kitchen Tools for Assistive Robotic Manipulators
The kitchen is often called "the heart of the home". In a study on the needs for assistive robots, it was discovered that preparing a complex meal is the third most frequent activity completed in daily life, surpassed by only lifting and putting down objects. Because of the significant impact an assistive robotic manipulator (ARM) with the ability to cook would make in the lives of people with disabilities, a preliminary study has been done on how ARM could be used for cook assistance. The ARM was evaluated by three aspects: physical help, safety, and adequacy. It was learned that cooking is too difficult of a task for a person to complete with the ARM alone. This project aims to using 3D printing technology to design and develop tool sets for the ARM to improve the performance of ARMs when proving cooking assistance.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Mechanical engineering
REQUIRED SKILLS: Literature review, summary findings from internet on available kitchen assitance tools; Able to use Solidworks or learn how to use solidworks in a time manner; Able to learn to use 3D printing machines; Communication skills with people with different backgrounds
MENTOR: Dr. Hongwu Wang
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Custom Arm for KitchenBot
The KitchenBot system is a robotic arm mounted in a kitchen with an overhead mounting track system, which was designed for people with upper limb limitations or weaknesses. The overhead mounting track system provides capability in moving to locations in the kitchen. The mounted robotic manipulator provides dexterous motion of object manipulation. Currently, the robotic arm used for the KitchenBot is the JACO robotic manipulator (Kinova, Canada), a 6 degrees of freedom with a three-fingered hand.
In this project, we would like to design and manufacture a custom lower cost robotic arm and gripper for the KitchenBot that is capable of complete kitchen tasks, such as opening/closing cabinet doors, picking up and putting down objects, cleaning countertop, load/unload the dishwasher/refrigerator/oven, or turning on/off the faucet.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Mechanical Engineering
REQUIRED SKILLS: Mechanical/Mechanism Design, Statics, Kinematics/Dynamics
MENTOR: Dr. Joshua Chung
PROGRAM: QoLT REU
PROJECT: Stability Codes for Power Wheelchair
The intern will be working to improve the stability software currently being implemented on the Strong-Arm project (a robotic arm that attaches to power wheelchairs and assists clinicians in user transfers).
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Computer Science major preferred
REQUIRED SKILLS: Experience coding in VxWorks, C, or C++ (required); Experience with electromechanical systems (desirable)
MENTORS: Dr. Rory Cooper, N. Brendon Adams
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Eye Blink-based Dual Mode Communication Technology for Patients with Advanced ALS
The goal of this project is to design and develop a handy communication technology, called Visual Morse Code (VMC) interface, for people with advanced ALS (such as locked-in syndrome), based on detecting their eye blinks as input signals and emulating Morse code system, using a low-cost 3-D depth sensing camera.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Computer Science, Information Science
REQUIRED SKILLS: Biofeedback data acquisition and analysis; Assistive software development; Research design and data collection
MENTOR: Dr. Hyun Ka
PROGRAM: QoLT REU
PROJECT: E-scale
The E-scale is a bed scale system that we developed to allow wheelchair users and anyone else who cannot stand on a typical bathroom scale to be able to weigh themselves in their homes everyday as they get into or out of bed. It consists of a set of sensor pods to measure the weights of the legs of the bed, a micro-controller to analyze the weights and send them to a database, a web portal and an app to view the data on electronic devices.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Bio-medical Engineering, Computer Science
REQUIRED SKILLS: No major courses are required for this project as there are several aspects of the project on which the intern could work. It is beneficial if the intern is familiar with Android and website development as well as database management. They should also be proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Powerpoint). Solidworks and Matlab might also be used.
MENTORS: Dr. Jonathan Pearlman, Jon Duvall
PROGRAM: QoLT REU
PROJECT: Activity Monitoring in Wheelchair Users
Wheelchair users tend to live a sedentary life due to their physical limitations. As a result, this population is more likely to develop secondary health problems such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Activity monitoring has become popular among the general public to help achieve and maintain physical fitness, and wheelchair users can potentially benefit from it by keeping track of their daily activity level. However, the commercial monitors such as ActiGraph, ActiHeart and Fitbit are not designed, and proven to be unable, to track wheelchair related activities and/or provide accurate energy expenditure measurement. Wheelchair users thus can not rely on this technology to help them develop a healthier and more active lifestyle. Our research team has been developing custom algorithms, which takes data collected by the commercial monitors, and custom made devices to provide accurate and reliable physical activity measurements for wheelchair users. In this project, you will be helping us to discover the relationships of motion and physiological data collected by different commercial monitors and determine how to better classify wheelchair related activities using these information.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Engineering of any kind, Biomechanics, Kinesiology
REQUIRED SKILLS: Students who are proficient in Matlab are highly preferred. Students need to have basic understanding of biomechanics and physiology. Enthusiasm and eagerness to learn/explore new areas are a plus.
MENTOR: Dr. Dan Ding, Kalai Tsang
PROGRAM: QoLT REU
PROJECT: Control System for Advanced Power Wheelchair
You will work on improving the function and efficiency of the software code used to run a prototype advanced wheelchair capable of climbing curbs and maintaining its seat level over varying terrains. You will also participate in the development of new control algorithms to increase the capabilities of the same device, and improve its user interface.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Computer science
REQUIRED SKILLS: Programming especially C++, microprocessor control, work with real-time systems, understanding of sensors and actuators
MENTOR: Dr. Rory Cooper, Andrea Sundaram
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Pneumatic System for Advanced Power Wheelchair
You will be redesigning the valves and manifold system for an advanced wheelchair prototype that uses pneumatics to raise and lower each wheel independently. The system you design will be more reliable, more efficient, and lower cost than the current system. The design will include evaluating specifications of available, off-the-shelf, parts and/or design and fabrication of custom parts with the help of the HERL machine shop.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Mechanical Engineering
REQUIRED SKILLS: Fluid dynamics, simulation (preferably using Matlab), SolidWorks, he hands-on fabrication and assembly skills a plus
MENTOR: Dr. Rory Cooper, Andrea Sundaram
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: StrongArm Biomechanics
The Strong Arm is a specialized wheelchair attachment designed to help wheelchair users transfer in and out of their electric powered wheelchair (EPW) to other surfaces (e.g. chairs and beds) with the assistance of a caregiver. Unlike current technologies used to transfer people such as a Hoyer lift, which is bulky and less easy to transport, the Strong Arm attaches directly to the EPW for transportation and use in the community. This goal of this project is to evaluate the biomechanics of caregivers when using the Strongarm compared to a traditional transfer device for dependent transfers of a rescue mannequin between a variety of surfaces.
LEVEL: Intermediate
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Engineering preferred, specifically mechanical, biomedical, or computer science/engineering. Other possible backgrounds possible but are not limited to: rehabilitation science, kinesiology, biology.
REQUIRED SKILLS: Familiarity with Matlab is strongly recommended, as well as with Microsoft Word and Excel. A basic understanding of anatomy, dynamics, and/or statistics would also be useful.
MENTOR: Dr. Alicia Koontz, Jon Slowik
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
PROJECT: Effectiveness of Blinding in Prosthetics Research Designs
Blinding of research subjects, e.g. assuring that they are unaware of their group assignment (intervention or control group) is a major principle in human subjects research, including but not limited to randomized control trials (RCTs). Research in Prosthetics & Orthotics (P&O) is often associated with comparably low levels of evidence. This is mainly because sample sizes are usually limited and because many interventions cannot be very well randomly assigned, but the common lack of blinding plays a role as well.
In this project, we will devise and execute an experimental protocol to address the question of how people with limb prostheses can be most effectively blinded to a typical research intervention, such as changing a component of their artificial limb. The work load will include the design of the data collection protocol, application for institutional approval, subject recruitment, data collection, post-processing, and analysis, as well as the preparation of a conference abstract and a journal manuscript based on the findings.
LEVEL: Advanced
REQUIRED BACKGROUND: Health Sciences, Psychology, Engineering, Statistics
REQUIRED SKILLS: Basic understanding of biomechanics, statistics, scientific writing. Good time management, organization skills, experience in clinical work. Experience in SPSS, EndNote, and proprietary software of mobile data collection equipment is not required but will be acquired during the internship.
MENTOR: Dr. Goeran Fiedler
PROGRAM: ASPIRE REU
Support for this program is provided by the National Science Foundation, Grant EEC 1852322.
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