CLEAR.
CLOSED LOOP ENGINEERING for ADVANCED REHABILITATION
Research Emphases
MECHANICS
Closing-the-loop between Wearable Technology and Biology to optimize tissue/organ function.
CONTROL & LEARNING
Merging human intelligence and artificial intelligence to achieve environment adaptation, optimal task performance, and safety
USER PERCEPTION
Integrate human perception and cognition into human-machine system and control
CLEAR Research Community
 Josh Alexander, MDChair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |  John Baratta, MD, MBAClinical Assistant Professor Medical Director, Stroke Rehabilitation |  Troy Blackburn, Ph.D.Neuromuscular Research Laboratory |  Alper Bozkurt, Ph.D.iBionics - Integrated Bionic Microsystems Lab |  Jessica Cassidy, PT, DPT, PhDAssistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy |  Jacque Cole Ph.D.Orthopaedic Mechanobiology Laboratory |  Scott Ferguson, Ph.D.System Design Optimization (SDO) Laboratory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 William Filer, MDClinical Assistant Professor Director, Residency Program |  Matt Fisher, Ph.D.Translational Orthopaedic Research Laboratory |  Jason Franz, Ph.D.Applied Biomechanics Laboratory |  Andrea Giovannucci, Ph.D.Neural Engineering Laboratory |  Debby Givens, PT, DPT, PhDDirector and Professor Division of Physical Therapy Department of Allied Health Sciences UNC-CH |  Xiaogang Hu, Ph.D.Neuromechanics Laboratory |  Helen Huang, Ph.D.Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory |
 Derek Kamper, Ph.D.Hand Rehabilitation Laboratory |  Michael Y. Lee, M.D., M.H.A., C.P.E.Senior Faculty Physical Medicine & Rehab Baylor College of Medicine |  Mike Lewek, Ph.D.Neurogait Research laboratory |  Edgar Lobaton, Ph.D.Active Robotic Sensing (ARoS) Laboratory |  Karen McCulloch, PT, PhD, NCSProfessor Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy Division of Physical Therapy Department of Allied Health Sciences |  Vicki Mercer, PT, Ph.D.Associate Professor Director, Human Movement Science PhD Program Division of Physical Therapy Department of Allied Health Sciences UNC-CH |  Blaise Morrison, PhD, CRC, PCAssistant Professor |
 Zeljko Pantic, Ph.D.Associate Professor Electrical and Computer Engineering |  Brian Pietrosimone, PhD, ATCNeuromuscular Research Laboratory |  Kate Saul, Ph.D.Movement Biomechanics Laboratory |  Nitin Sharma, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Neuromuscular Control & Robotics |  Louise Thoma, PT, DPT, PhD |  Paul Weinhold, Ph.D.UNC Orthopaedics |  Erik Wikstrom, PhD, ATC, LATAssistant Professor, Athletic Training Katherine Smith Gunter Fellow Co-Director, Sport Medicine Research Laboratory Department of Exercise and Sport Science UNC-CH |
Latest News & Research Videos
Rehab Research Seminar Oct. 1st
Upcoming Seminars
Trisha Kesar, PT, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
January 21, 2022
Matthew Tresch, PhD
February 4, 2022
Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Northwestern University
Additional Rehab Related Seminars, Talks & Meetings
Rehab Labs Research Meetings
When: 1st Friday of the Month from 9:30am — 10:30am
Dates: See calendar
Locations: Engineering Building III, Room 4142 & Mary Ellen Jones, Room 3104
About: The seminar series serves as an opportunity for students to present research progress and obtain feedback from faculty and their peers. For faculty/ postdocs, the meetings serve as a platform to share grant submission ideas and solicit feedback.
Recent Presenters
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
October 01, 2021
Dr. Pedro Lopes, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Chicago
Topic: Integrating Interactive Devices With the User’s Body
Dr. Lopes discussed his work on bodily-integrated devices, which he believes are the natural succession to wearable interfaces and allow us to investigate how interfaces might connect to our bodies in a more direct and personal way.
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
September 03, 2021
Dr. Rinku Roy, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Topic: Prediction of Fingertip force and Joint Kinematics of Individual Fingers using Motoneuron Firing Activities
Dr. Roy discussed her use of the Neural-drive approach with advanced assistive robotic hands that can help individuals with hand impairment perform daily activities.
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
May 07, 2021
Dr. Amay Bandodkar, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, NC State University
Topic: Unconventional biochemical sensors and energy devices for applications in wearables and neuro-engineering
Dr. Bandodkar's research interests include working at the interface of electronics, materials science, and biology to realize next-generation conformal sensors and energy devices with broad applications in wearables, implants, and distributed systems.
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
April 02, 2021
Dr. Hoon Kim, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Topic: Decoding neuromuscular features in ankle muscles: Wavelet transformed EMG signals
Dr. Kim's work examines mobility in older adults and he uses musculoskeletal simulations to understand how gait changes as humans age. Dr. Kim is a Postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jason Franz's laboratory.
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
March 05, 2021
Dr. Helen Huang, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineerinig, University of Central Florida
Topic: Advancing multimodal neuromechanics and understanding of locomotor adaptation
Dr. Huang presented her team’s research on advancing sensor development and methods for using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to study brain dynamics in multimodal neuromechanics experiments of human locomotion and locomotor adaptation. She also discussed recent findings on brain responses to perturbations during a seated locomotor task and gait stability responses to small perturbations applied on a stride-by-stride basis during walking.
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
Feb 05, 2021
Dr. Karl Newell, Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia
Dr. Newell's presentation focused on the learning of new patterns of coordination in human movement. This a property of skill acquisition that has been underplayed in the traditions of motor learning due to the selection of so-called ‘simple’ low degrees of freedom (DF) tasks or those tasks where the individual can already produce the qualitative properties of the coordination pattern. The role of order parameters/collective variables from a dynamic systems framework is considered as essential to the early formative stage of skill acquisition. Theoretical, experimental and practical implications and challenges of this approach to the learning of movement forms will be discussed.
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
Dec 04, 2020
Dr. Varun Nalam (Postdoc Fellow, Mentor: Helen Huang)
Dr. Nalam's presentation discussed understanding how humans modulate their ankle behavior during various tasks could aid in advancement of assistive and rehabilitative care of people suffering from neurodegenerative disorders. The research presented in this talk focuses on quantifying ankle impedance modulation during balance and walking in different environments and its implications in development of patient specific rehabilitation protocols for people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and Stroke.
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
Nov 13, 2020
Topic: Rehabilitation Research and Engineering Center: Collaborative Machines Enhancing Therapies (COMET)
Speakers: Dr. Ferdinando Mussa-Ivaldi (Northwestern U/ Shirley Ryan AbilityLab)
Body-Machine Interface: Recovering muscle control
Dr. Heike Vallery (TU Delft)
GyroBalance: Adaptive wearable balance trainer
Dr. Arun Jayaraman (Shirley Ryan AbilityLab/ Northwestern U)
Soft Exosuit: Variable collaborative assistance for functional
gait recovery in stroke
Dr. James Patton (University of Illinois at Chicago/ Shirley Ryan AbilityLab)
Augmentation Exoskeletons: Smart passive devices for arm
function recovery
Dr. David Reinkensmeyer (University of California, Irvine)
Wearable Sensing: Custom feedback for encouraging
movement practice
Past Presenters
Oct 02, 2020
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
Dr. Blaise Morrison, Assistant Professor, Department of Allied Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling
Dr. Morrison's presentation highlighted the need for family-system interventions that target psychosocial adjustment and community participation after brain injury. Dr. Morrison also provided an overview of his research program and intervention development plan.
Sep 04, 2020
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
Dr. Quentin Sanders (ARRT Postdoc Fellow, Mentor: Derek Kamper)
Dr. Sanders discussed how to optimize the usage of wearable robotic technologies for hand rehabilitation after stroke and demonstrated the progress being made by considering three key areas: usership patterns of wearable hand sensing technology in real-world settings, sensory and motor control of the hand after stroke, and the mechanical design and intuitive control of wearable soft robotic technologies for the hand.
Sep 04, 2020
Joint Rehab/Regen Monthly Meeting
Emily McCain (Graduate Student, Adviser: Kate Saul)
Emily McCain discussed her ASB presentation: Using a custom 3d printed ankle stay and a lockable DonJoy knee brace this research imposed unilateral, joint-specific restrictions in range of motion (ROM) to provide insight into what gait adaptations are solely the result of isolated joint deficits and which are the result of simultaneous multi-joint impairments. This framework allowed us to separate the relative impact of ankle versus knee restriction and understand their interaction on mechanical compensations and the resultant energetic penalties during walking. We hope our results can help optimize future designs of rehabilitative techniques and technology by providing insight into trade-offs of intervening at one lower-limb joint versus another.
