{"622464":{"#nid":"622464","#data":{"type":"news","title":"In the Comparative Neuromechanics Lab","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen I volunteered for a study that will observe and measure movements during walking, I knew only that my participation would help researchers figure out how to make better prostheses for people missing limbs. I didn\u0026rsquo;t know that the experience would surface strong feelings of empathy for people with ambulatory problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the day of my appointment, I was met by Kinsey Herrin, a prosthetist\/orthotist and the clinical liaison for the study, and Samuel Kwak, the graduate student working with \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/pwp.gatech.edu\/cnl\/currentlabmembers\/younghuichang\/\u0022\u003EYoung-Hui Chang\u003C\/a\u003E on the research study. Chang is a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the principal investigator of the Comparative Neuromechanics Laboratory, where the study took place. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study \u0026ndash; \u0026ldquo;Accelerating Large-Scale Adoption of Robotic Lower-Limb Prostheses through Personalized Prosthesis Controller Adaptation\u0026rdquo; \u0026ndash; compares the motions, forces, and muscle activity during walking of people with amputations versus controls. The goal is to develop better ways of controlling prostheses. I was part of the control group. My counterpart, I learned, is a woman who is amputated below the knee on her left leg.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter the orientation to the study and reminders of confidentiality and safety, Sam and Kinsey put me through several walking sessions: normal, with a knee brace locked in extension, with an ankle brace, and with both braces. Each session started with a measurement of base line, followed by walking on a split-belt treadmill three times, each at a different speed. At each speed, I\u0026rsquo;d walk for three minutes before data are collected.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EData were collected from the force plates beneath the treadmill and by infrared cameras recording the movements. As I walked, I saw on a monitor the motion of my legs \u0026ndash; shown as white dots corresponding to infrared sensors tacked on to various parts of each lower limb.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was easy-peasy with normal walking; the only mildly tricky part was trying to mind the small gap between the two parts of the split-belt treadmill.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith braces on just one leg, it was a different story. The braces were heavy. My left leg was constrained. I never felt so asymmetrical in my life. Walking without the ability to bend the knee, or flex the ankle, is awkward, at best.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This is tough,\u0026rdquo; I heard myself saying over and over. If this is tough for me, I thought, how much more for people without limbs; it must be harrowing for them.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKinsey has worked with patients who have amputations. While prosthetists are quite adept at creating functional passive prostheses for patients, restoring power naturally during walking is much more challenging.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EProsthetists and patients can spend lots of time in the clinic over multiple visits tuning a powered device to be perfect, Kinsey said. The back and forth can create a burden on the patient and the clinician. The ultimate goal of this study \u0026ndash; Kinsey and Sam reminded me several times \u0026ndash; is to make prosthesis tuning easier and more automatic for patients and clinicians.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI spent three hours volunteering for the study. I consider those among the most useful three hours of my life, considering that my participation could help ease the life of people with lower limb amputations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study needs more volunteers. If you can spare three hours to advance the science of prosthesis control, contact Kinsey at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kinsey.herrin@biosci.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekinsey.herrin@biosci.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E for more information.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Volunteering for a research study"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen I volunteered for a study that will observe and measure movements during walking, I knew only that my participation would help researchers figure out how to make better prostheses for people missing limbs. I didn\u0026rsquo;t know that the experience would surface strong feelings of empathy for people with ambulatory problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"I volunteered for a study that will observe and measure movements during walking."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2019-06-12 20:00:28","changed_gmt":"2019-06-12 20:11:26","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-06-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"622465":{"id":"622465","type":"image","title":"Walking with two leg braces","body":null,"created":"1560369699","gmt_created":"2019-06-12 20:01:39","changed":"1560369699","gmt_changed":"2019-06-12 20:01:39","alt":"","file":{"fid":"237084","name":"14-Walking with two braces.sq_.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14-Walking%20with%20two%20braces.sq_.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14-Walking%20with%20two%20braces.sq_.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":399297,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14-Walking%20with%20two%20braces.sq_.jpg?itok=kt9kbno9"}}},"media_ids":["622465"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"88421","name":"Prosthesis"},{"id":"181512","name":"orthosis"},{"id":"181513","name":"amputation"},{"id":"181514","name":"assisted walking"},{"id":"181515","name":"Comparative Neurodynamics Laboratory"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}