Robotics professors Haohan Zhang and Jacob George received a seed grant of $50K from the ALS Association to develop new neck exoskeleton technologies to help ALS patients with dropped head syndrome to regain functional head-neck movements. This grant will partially support two graduate students for one year to conduct preliminary studies and data collection that are necessary for future, larger clinical trials that are aimed to translate the technology to ALS patients. This project will be in collaboration with the multidisciplinary Motor Neuron Disease clinic, directed by Dr. Mark Bromberg, at the University of Utah Hospital....
Read MoreUtah Bionic Leg Named to Time’s List of the Best Inventions of 2023
TIME’s annual list of the Best Inventions features 200 extraordinary innovations with the capacity to change people’s lives. To compile the list, TIME’s editors solicit nominations and accept applications describing groundbreaking work in key fields —such as AI, green energy, and sustainability — evaluating each contender on a number factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact. This year, TIME has selected the Utah Bionic Leg as one of the best inventions of 2023, naming it in its “Experimental” category. You can read more about it here....
Read MoreGrand Opening of the Assistive Rehabilitation Technology Studio
The brand-new Assistive Rehabilitation Technology (ART) Studio in the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital opened its doors at the beginning of this month. Lab directors Ashley Dalrymple, Jacob George, Russell Butterfield, and Kota Takahashi are excited to share this innovative and revolutionary space with the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department. View more images at the Neurorobotics Lab...
Read MoreDr. George Presents at Covergence Conference
The lack of true early-stage capital and innovation developmental support is a major challenge in advancing promising university technology from the lab to commercial and investment partners. Research institutions are leading through the implementation of university gap funding (proof of concept, startup, venture) and accelerator programs to bridge this “valley of death”. Over the past 15 years, these programs have evolved into sophisticated investment, evaluation, development, and commercialization support mechanisms to nurture the most promising opportunities in emerging, high-growth technology areas. Smart companies and investors are taking notice and making it a strategic, external innovation and investment priority to...
Read MoreUWR Lab received a seed grant ($50K) from the ALS Association.
UWR Lab received a seed grant ($50K) from the ALS Association. This award will help continue the development and clinical translation of a neck exoskeleton to assist with head-neck movements in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This research is in collaboration with the Motor Neuron Disease clinic (directed by Dr. Mark Bromberg) and the Utah NeuroRobotics Lab directed by Dr. Jake George....
Read MoreU Student Robotics Win Award at Lunabotics 2023
The Utah Student Robotics team took second place in the Systems Engineering Paper competition at the 2023 NASA Lunabotics competition. This event challenges college teams to design and built prototype robots to complete tasks in a lunar-like environment. Since 2010, this has been focused on robotic mining of ice from the dark sides of craters on the moon. The U’s team consisted of 17 students: Andrew Tolton, Chandler Millar, Daniel Robinson, Najman Husaini, Creed McCord, Hunter Strathman, Landen Hughes, Bradley Lund, Nathan Bruns, Rylan Metcalf, Jeremy Clark, Minh Le, Daniel Pruschki, Luke Phillips, Joseph Gilsoul, Simon Padgen, and Tomas...
Read MoreKuntz Lab Published in Science Robotics
The Kuntz Lab paper, “Autonomous medical needle steering in vivo” has been published in Science Robotics....
Read MoreAbby Citterman wins American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association’s Edwin and Kathryn Arbogast Award
Congrats to Abby Citterman for being honored with the best prosthetic abstract at the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association National Assembly! Her poster is titled Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation at the Wrist as a Method to Restore Sensory Feedback for Individuals with Partial Hand Amputation. Sensory feedback is critical for dexterous hand function, but current methods are cumbersome, inhibiting the natural use of the residual hand or prosthesis. TENS at the wrist may constitute a functional solution for evoking distally referred sensations on the phantom digits and restoring intuitive, non-restrictive sensory feedback for individuals with partial hand amputation. Read the...
Read MoreAnnual Gould Lecture to Feature Star-Wars-Inspired Bionics
In 2019, Jacob George and fellow researchers at the U made waves with the “LUKE Arm” (named after the robotic hand given to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back), a prosthetic arm that has the ability to feel objects by transmitting the appropriate signals to the brain. Not only can the arm feel, but it can be controlled by the user’s thoughts. In the 2023 Distinguished Gould Lecture, George will highlight this technology and the advances that have taken place since their breakthrough technology was first announced — including translation into bionic exoskeletons to aid individuals with paralysis...
Read MoreRevolutionizing Science Education
In a lab in the U’s Craig H. Nielsen Rehabilitation Hospital, so new that plastic wrap and tape still enclose monitors and equipment cabinets, three or four middle school science teachers group around research assistant and recent MS graduate Bret Mecham, who is wearing a bionic exoskeleton on his arm. The bionic arm moves up and down. “I’m not controlling this,” Mecham tells the audience, “He is—” indicating a teacher who is holding an electrode on his forearm. As the teacher flexes and relaxes, the electrode picks up electrical signals in his muscle. Those signals translate into mechanical motion...
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