Invention of a Device to Produce Unpredictable, Variable Slips
Advisor Information
Nathaniel Hunt
Location
UNO Criss Library, Room 232
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
2-3-2018 11:15 AM
End Date
2-3-2018 11:30 AM
Abstract
Falling was responsible for over 9.3 million injuries requiring hospitalization and $31 billion in U.S. medical costs in 2015 alone. The second leading cause of this is slipping while walking, when an individual unintentionally slides on the surface of the ground and must react to maintain balance. A wealth of previous research has aimed both to understand the predisposing mechanisms that place someone at elevated risk of falling and to develop effective rehabilitation methods to mitigate said mechanisms. While a number of such interventions focus on improving muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and balance, low transfer of these activities to actual balance recovery has led scientists to investigate more “task-specific” methods. This class of interventions intends to mimic the conditions experienced by people in the midst of a destabilizing slip. Instrumented treadmills, moving platforms, and waist pulls are popular and effective means of delivery, but each possesses key limitations that differentiate them from real-life slips. With the preceding facts in mind, we developed a new, wearable device that can produce unpredictable slips when remotely triggered by a researcher or clinician. This device, named the Wearable Apparatus for Slipping Perturbations (WASP), addresses a number of the shortcomings of present interventions. Future research using WASP will examine the specific movement strategies used in response to a wide, variable range of slips as well as any learning effects that repeated use may have.
Invention of a Device to Produce Unpredictable, Variable Slips
UNO Criss Library, Room 232
Falling was responsible for over 9.3 million injuries requiring hospitalization and $31 billion in U.S. medical costs in 2015 alone. The second leading cause of this is slipping while walking, when an individual unintentionally slides on the surface of the ground and must react to maintain balance. A wealth of previous research has aimed both to understand the predisposing mechanisms that place someone at elevated risk of falling and to develop effective rehabilitation methods to mitigate said mechanisms. While a number of such interventions focus on improving muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and balance, low transfer of these activities to actual balance recovery has led scientists to investigate more “task-specific” methods. This class of interventions intends to mimic the conditions experienced by people in the midst of a destabilizing slip. Instrumented treadmills, moving platforms, and waist pulls are popular and effective means of delivery, but each possesses key limitations that differentiate them from real-life slips. With the preceding facts in mind, we developed a new, wearable device that can produce unpredictable slips when remotely triggered by a researcher or clinician. This device, named the Wearable Apparatus for Slipping Perturbations (WASP), addresses a number of the shortcomings of present interventions. Future research using WASP will examine the specific movement strategies used in response to a wide, variable range of slips as well as any learning effects that repeated use may have.