{"id":4234,"date":"2019-05-01T17:50:10","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T17:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering-new\/?p=4234"},"modified":"2024-11-05T16:00:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T23:00:41","slug":"nau-mechanical-engineer-awarded-multiple-grants-to-improve-wearable-exoskeletons-for-people-with-movement-disorders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/mechanical-engineering\/nau-mechanical-engineer-awarded-multiple-grants-to-improve-wearable-exoskeletons-for-people-with-movement-disorders\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU mechanical engineer awarded multiple grants to improve wearable exoskeletons for people with movement disorders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Biomechatronics<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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Nearly four in 1,000 children are afflicted with cerebral palsy (CP), making it the most common cause of pediatric physical disability in the United States. This neurological disorder, typically caused by damage to the brain before birth, affects a child\u2019s muscle control and coordination and often makes walking extremely difficult. What\u2019s more, children with CP in Arizona, in both rural and urban areas, lack access to the basic treatment needed to prevent this ambulatory decline, which worsens as they grow older.<\/p>\n

Although CP cannot be cured, treatments can improve the overall quality of life for affected patients. One of the most promising potential new treatment options is the use of battery-powered wearable devices, or exoskeletons, that could provide home-based gait training and mobility assistance that is not limited by the patient\u2019s proximity to urban research facilities.<\/p>\n

Zach Lerner<\/strong>, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and faculty in Northern Arizona University\u2019s Center for Bioengineering Innovation<\/a>, has been focusing his research for several years on developing improved exoskeletons, which could significantly decrease CP patients\u2019 lifelong suffering and the resulting economic burdens placed on their families. Lerner, who leads a team of researchers working in NAU\u2019s Biomechatronics Lab<\/a>, has been awarded a total of $600,000 over the past several months through grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission (ABRC) to continue this work.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy improving coordinated muscle control, fatigue resistance and walking economy, evidence suggests that children with CP wearing these devices may engage in greater amounts of habitual physical activity,\u201d Lerner said. \u201cThis would likely prolong walking ability and have many additional physical and mental health benefits, such as increasing muscle and bone mass. Increased daily activity would likely also have rehabilitation-related benefits, including maintenance or improvement of underlying walking ability, by increasing muscle strength and coordination.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three grants are focused on research improving how wearable exoskeletons can improve walking ability in individuals with movement disorders.<\/p>\n