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Students from Haptics and Kinematics/Dynamics demonstrated their projects, December 7, 2015.
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Individuals with stroke have neuromuscular weakness or paralysis on one side of the body caused by some muscles disengaging and overexciting other muscles. Hyperextension of the knee joint and complete lack of plantar flexion of the ankle joint are common symptoms of stroke. This project involved the creation and implementation of a haptic device that utilizes vibration to induce a proprioceptive illusion around the knee joint, as if a subject has a version of hemiparesis. The main goal of the project was to discern whether a device of relatively the same design could be utilized as a viable research instrument to simulate stroke-like gait in able-bodied subjects.
A comparison between how the dominant leg was affected by the haptic device versus how the non-dominant leg was affected was investigated as well. It was concluded that the device did have a significant effect on the velocities of the gait of the subjects, but it could not be surmised if it had significantly different effect on the dominant leg versus the non-dominant leg. A qualitative analysis regarding the sensations experienced by the subjects and their levels of comfort between the trials was also conducted.
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