Stroke survivor Patty Jowett wears a lower-limb exoskeleton in 澳门线上赌场's 仿生学，系统和控制(BSC)实验室. 她说:“每次离开这里，我脸上都挂着微笑。.
In 2014, Patty Jowett suffered a stroke that briefly rendered the left side of her body immobile. “我的肩膀, 手臂和手指还很虚弱, 但我做得更好了,这位67岁的雪城本地人承认道. “Through physical 和 occupational therapy, I’m getting my life back.”
So when Jowett heard that Victor Duenas, a professor in 澳门线上赌场’s 工程与计算机科学学院在为他的研究寻找实验对象 仿生学，系统和控制(BSC)实验室她欣然接受了这个机会. 天后, 乔伊特发现自己在校园里被电缆和铅线覆盖着, 踩着一辆固定的平躺式摩托车.
表面上看, there’s nothing unusual about this 和 Duenas’ other contraptions, which include a compressive walking boot 和 a wearable lower-limb exoskeleton, 每个都连接到病人监控系统. 但这是专有算法, 运行设备的代码和编程，而不是设备本身, 这些都是值得注意的.
“每次离开维克多的实验室，我脸上都挂着灿烂的笑容,乔威特说, 职业康复咨询师. “As a stroke survivor 和 advocate, I feel like he’s on the verge of something big.”
为编程带来新的力量
Professor Victor Duenas is a self-described "experimentalist" 谁 oversees the BSC Lab.
Duenas often jokes about the BSC Lab being a “five-year, overnight success 故事."在林克大厅的地下室, it grew out his doctoral work at the University of Florida 和 became official with his arrival at Syracuse in 2018. 从那时起, the lab has borne witness to a wide range of robotic tools 和 equipment while bringing new power to programming.
“我专注于设计, analysis 和 experimental implementation of control systems for human-robot interactions,杜恩纳斯说, 墨西哥出生的机械工程师. 他对控制理论的精通, which explores how electrical 和 mechanical systems work together to achieve a desired result, 这在很大程度上解释了他作为实验家的成功.
杜埃纳斯的第一个博士学位.D. 学生, 张陈浩G ' 22, helped design 和 manufacture the lab’s stationary cycle 和 exoskeleton. 他还协助研究项目 锡拉丘兹退伍军人医疗中心 以及南卡罗来纳医科大学.
A central theme of Chang’s work was functional electrical stimulation (FES), which applies small electrical charges to weakened or paralyzed muscles. FES, he explains, is particularly effective in treating foot drop, a side effect of stroke. “A big challenge was dealing with movement unpredictability 和 muscle fatigue, which affect the way you develop 和 implement a control system,Chang说。, 他是芯片制造巨头阿斯麦的高级控制工程师. “还, Professor Duenas always listened to my feedback 和 trusted me make the necessary adjustments.”
衔接理论与实践
Jonathan Casas G’23 (right) has parlayed his University training into a research position in Germany.
Jonathan Casas G’23 also figures prominently in the lab’s evolution, 几乎只研究外骨骼. 他将其称为具有步态功能的“仿生机器人”. “它促进了自我照顾和自尊,” says the newly appointed research associate at the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. “在我们所有的康复设备中, this one probably has the most far-reaching societal implications.”
Casas recalls how Duenas encouraged him to “close the loop between theory 和 practice,” using mathematical modeling 和 computer simulations to inform the exoskeleton’s functionality. “We eventually came up with software that would let us design almost any kind of controller we wanted,卡萨斯说。, 澳门线上赌场机器人所谓的大脑. “I learned technical skills 和 strategies that will benefit me for years to come.”
其他研究人员也赞同这些观点, noting Duenas’ proclivity for having graduate 学生s mentor undergraduates, 谁, 反过来, 协助偶尔的高中实习生.
24岁的杰德·卡特(Jade Carter)就是这样一个本科生, 谁 studies robotic devices called powered ankle-foot orthoses (PAFOs). 专业大四 生物医学工程, she says that such boot-like devices are invaluable to stroke patients because their control systems can read 和 interact with the external environment. Thus, PAFOs can improve walking ability, gait speed 和 balance.
“我一直对生物力学很感兴趣. Duenas, I now have a twin passion for rehabilitation engineering 和 gait training,” Carter says.
Nicholas Rubino G’24 also studies PAFOs 和 is part of a team of 学生s developing the computer architecture necessary to run such experiments. “There’s lots of trouble shooting with rehabilitation robotics,” notes the aspiring Ph.D. 学生. “Dr. Duenas reminds me that every problem needs to be addressed in context of a complete, robust system.”
展现出最好的一面
The BSC Lab helps 学生s close the loop between theory 和 practice.
As an undergraduate, Eleanor Lawler ’22, G’24 distinguished herself as a 越野 和 田径 冠军. 今天, she’s racing the clock to design PAFOs that ensure “robustness 和 comfort across stroke victims.” “My research into healthy physical locomotion hasn’t just made me a better runner. It’s also made me sympathetic toward patients with long-term impairment,硕士生说 机械与航空航天工程.
劳勒与Evan Tulsky等学生合作, 谁se mathematical acumen has earned him a high-profile conference paper. “Everyone pushes me hard, but that’s how we get results,” says Tulsky, a senior majoring in 机械工程.
Duenas underscores the importance of dignity 和 respect in the classroom. 还有实验室. “We create devices that are safe 和 empowering,” he says smiling. “I want my 学生s—和 people like Patty Jowett—to put their best foot forward.”
