Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

The largest of these is an NIH project (2017-2023, $3,571,000) using a unique combination of robotics and virtual reality for neurorehabilitation of people who have arm limitations resulting from a recent stroke. 

Five smaller projects on wearable robots were supported by an NIDILRR center grant (2015-2022, $4,625,000) and address lower extremity exoskeletons to restore walking by individuals with stroke, epidural electrical stimulation to increase spinal cord transmission and improve the use of exoskeletons by people with spinal cord injury, and the study of new robotic technology for stroke therapy to be used in the home.

Two development projects were designing new human-robot interfaces allowing users to control exoskeletons in a biologically natural way.  An NSF grant was developing a new lower extremity exoskeleton for advanced research.  The Kessler Foundation and Rutgers Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science are major collaborators. As of September 2018, grants total $8,396,000.

Projects

• Robotic Exoskeleton Gait Training during Acute Stroke Rehabilitation
• Exoskeleton and Spinal Cord Stimulation for SCI
• Robotic Therapy to Improve Manipulation after Stroke
• VR-Robotic Rehabilitation for Individuals During Early Recovery and at Home
• Reduction of Spasticity and Dystonia Prior to Exoskeleton Use by People with Cerebral Palsy
• Development of an Exoskeleton to Enhance Arm and Hand Manipulation in Individuals with Duchene Muscular Dystrophy
• Independent User Control of a Lower Extremity Exoskeleton

Grant: HHS90RE6021  11/1/15 -10/30/22