Speaker
Dr. Fabrizio Sergi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rice University
Topic
Optimizing robotic neurorehabilitation through combination of haptics and neuroimaging
Abstract
Repetitive
movement
therapy
is
currently
the
standard
therapeutic
program
used
to
promote
motor
recovery
after
neurological
injuries,
such
as
stroke
and
incomplete
spinal
cord
injury.
Robotic
devices
have
been
developed
in
the
last
two
decades,
showing
increasing
potential
in
automating
movement
therapy,
due
to
the
possibility
for
high-intensity
training,
systematic
and
repeatable
assistance
schemes,
and
accurate
performance
measurement.
The
growing
application
field
of
rehabilitation
introduces
novel
and
multidisciplinary
challenges
to
robotics,
which
include
the
ergonomic
design
of
human-interacting
systems,
the
development
of
actuators
capable
of
large
force
and
impedance
dynamic
range,
and
the
implementation
of
smart
assistance
algorithms
which
modulate
assistance
in
a
subject-adaptive
way.
During
this
talk,
I
will
present
how
my
previous
research
has
addressed
some
of
the
above
mentioned
issues,
showing
examples
pertaining
to
both
lower
and
upper
extremity
movement
training.
In
the
context
of
lower
extremity
training,
I
will
present
a
novel
methodology
for
the
exhaustive
design
and
optimization
of
wearable
robots,
and
show
how
such
methodology
has
been
applied
for
the
development
of
a
non-anthropomorphic
wearable
orthosis
for
gait
assistance
with
improved
intrinsic
dynamics
and
ergonomics.
Further,
I
will
present
a
novel
controller
capable
of
on-line
estimate
of
the
residual
capabilities
of
the
subject
during
training
and
of
subject-adaptive
assistance,
and
show
how
this
controller
is
currently
being
tested
in
a
clinical
study
targeting
upper-extremity
recovery
of
function
in
patients
with
incomplete
spinal
cord
injury.
I
will
then
introduce
a
new
line
of
research,
which
aims
at
combining
haptics
and
functional
neuroimaging.
I
will
present
the
recent
development
of
a
novel
actuation
technology
enabling
the
execution
of
shared
motor
protocols
with
accurate
haptic
feedback
during
functional
MRI.
I
will
conclude
discussing
how
such
technology
can
have
a
value
in
innovating
current
practices
in
robotic
rehabilitation,
enabling
subject-specific
protocols
promoting
optimal
functional
reorganization
after
neurological
injury,
and
present
steps
toward
the
achievement
of
this
goal.
Speaker's biography
Dr. Fabrizio Sergi received his B.Sc. (2005), M.Sc. (2007) and Ph.D. (2011) from Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy. He is currently a Research Scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University, Houston, Texas, following postdoctoral training conducted jointly at Rice University and the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. His main research interest is in the field of biorobotics, and in particular in the development of novel, high performance robotic technologies for physical interaction with humans, with a focus on the application to motor neurorehabilitation, functional neuroimaging and biomechanics.
Invited by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering