MARS-RERC
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) and its partners will develop an internationally acclaimed center designed to develop and evaluate the utility of robotics for rehabilitation. This center will work toward a future where robotics for rehabilitation are used from applications in therapy to assistance in improvement of managing life after neural injury. As in the past cycles, the focus is substantially on recovery from stroke because they are the largest user group requiring intensive rehabilitation and assistance. However, it will also be a pilot for new applications in spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and aging, which are also suitable to this maturing field.
Our broad objective is to broaden the use of robotic devices for therapy and/or assistance. While such devices can monitor gains in movement ability, they will also encourage people to train effectively, and will be part of their users’ lives by assisting them in accomplishing desired activities beyond the laboratory.
Machines Assisting Recovery from Stroke (MARS) is a center of excellence established by funding from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research's (NIDRR). Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) program. Our research focuses on robots for rehabilitation therapy after hemispheric stroke, which is the most common neurological disorder that requires intensive and prolonged rehabilitation. Devices that assist the therapist in providing rationally based, intensive and long duration stroke treatments can also be used to monitor progress and help improve functional performance.
RIC, together with its multi-national partners at Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of California at Irvine, ETH in Zurich and INAOE, Puebla, Mexico make up a multicenter effort to use robots to explore new approaches that improve functional outcomes during either reach-and-grasp or full body locomotion activities. There are six key subprojects of intensive study: development, research and training.
Research training is a critical component that includes medical students, residents, physical therapists, occupational therapists and graduate students in engineering and neuroscience. We will leverage the RIC Academy for continuing education, on-site training and archived web-based presentations network.
Project R1 - Robotic activity mobility center in a fitness center for people with neurologic disability
David A. Brown, PT, PhD, PI, University of Alabama at Birmingham
James Rimmer, PhD, subcontract PI, Lakeshore Foundation
Julio Santos, MSME, subcontract PI, HDT Robotics
Project R2 - A multi-user virtual training environment for upper extremity therapy in the home
Derek Kamper, PhD, RIC, IlT, PI
Daria Tsoupikova, M.F.A., UIC, Co-PI
Nikolay Stoykov, PhD, RIC, Co-I
Randy Vick, ATR-BC, SAIC, Co-I
Heidi Fischer, MS, OTR/L, RIC, Research Therapist
Project R3 - Community-ready upper extremity interactive rehabilitation
James Patton, PhD, NU and RIC, PI
Robert Kenyon, PhD, UIC EVL, Co-PI
Project D1 - Development of expertise in use of exoskeletons for walking in individuals with spinal cord injury
Arun Jayaraman, PT, PhD, RIC & NU, PI
William Zev Rymer, MD, PhD, RIC & NU, Co-PI
Project D2 - A body-machine interface for promoting motor recovery while controlling assistive devices.
Ferdinando Mussa-Ivaldi, RIC & NU, PI
Project D3 - Wheelchair-based, robotic, upper extremity exercise and power-assisted propulsion
David J. Reinkensmeyer, PhD, U.C. Irvine, PI
Dan Zondervan, MS, U.C. Irvine, Co-I
Meghan Buell, OTR, RIC, Co-I
Richard Harvey, MD, RIC, Co-I
D4 - Wearable robotics for fall prevention
Dr.-Ing. Heike. Vallery, PI, TU Delft, NL and Khalifa University, UAE
Hans Arendzen, MD, Co-Pi, ILeiden University Medical Center, NL
Application of avatar systems
Robert Kenyon, PhD, UIC EVL, Co-PI
Jason Leigh
