Design of a Wearable Balance Control Indicator

Each year, one in three elderly fall. Studies show that many factors contribute to an elderly person\u27s risk of falling, but if the factors causing imbalance are improved, a person\u27s risk of falling may be reduced. A device that detects and alerts the user of an off-balance situation before the fall occurs could identify a specific need for improved balance control. This MQP describes the design, testing, and verification of a prototype wearable device that is worn on the right hip during the sit-to-stand activity (STS) to detect and notify the user of an unbalanced STS. By signaling an off-balance situation during STS, our device notifies the user of poor balance control and identifies the need for balance control improvement

Wind Generation on Nantucket

This report, prepared for the Nantucket Energy Study Committee, addresses important background information which can be used to study the feasibility of implementing land-based wind turbines on Nantucket. Through interviews with key informants and archival research, the project team addressed pertinent laws, regulations, and permits; ownership and financial arrangements; and concerns regarding implementing wind turbines on Nantucket. The project provides a timeline to address laws, regulations and permits; evaluates the financials of different turbine sizing options; recommends how to mitigate concerns; and ultimately proposes how Nantucket should proceed with their land-based wind project

A Wearable Motion Analysis System to Evaluate Gait Deviations

A Wearable Motion Analysis System (WMAS) was developed to evaluate gait, particularly parameters that are indicative of mild traumatic brain injury. The WMAS consisted on six Opal IMUs attached on the sternum, waist, left and right thigh and left and right shank. Algorithms were developed to calculate the knee flexion angle, stride length and cadence parameters during slow, normal and fast gait speeds. The WMAS was validated for repeatability using a robotic arm and accuracy using the Vicon motion capture system, the gold standard for gait analysis. The WMAS calculated the gait parameters to within a clinically acceptable range and is a powerful tool for gait analysis and potential concussion diagnosis outside of a laboratory setting

Evaluating the Gait of Lower Limb Prosthesis Users

Outcome assessments are vital in facilitating periodic, episodic and ongoing evaluation of persons with limb loss. There are many outcome measures used to quantify prosthetic fit, alignment, comfort, functionality and usability of lower limb prostheses. However, many measures are subjective, difficult to implement in a clinical setting and lack psychometric evaluation. This study used an immersive Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) virtual reality system with an instrumented spilt-belt treadmill and real time motion capture system as a research tool to evaluate and compare the gait of lower limb prosthesis users and non-amputees as a preliminary study to determine the effectiveness and appropriate use of outcome measures. The use of the CAREN system providing more real world scenarios such as ramps, inclines and unexpected inclines helped evaluate the hill assessment index (HAI) and the combined gait asymmetry metric (CGAM)