This project develops a smart corrective insole for children with idiopathic toe walking, a gait pattern in which the forefoot contacts the ground instead of a consistent heel strike. The device combines plantar force sensors, an adjustable heel air bladder, and a Bluetooth-connected smartphone application to monitor gait in real time, encourage a heel-down walking…

This project develops a smart insole system that uses an array of pressure sensors to capture plantar pressure during walking. A machine learning model is trained to estimate ground reaction forces and center of pressure from this wearable data, reducing the need for traditional lab-based equipment. The system aims to enable portable, real-world biomechanical analysis…

Hydrocephalus diodes have a difficult time maintaining current while the human body attacks it. Our lab is testing several different encapsulation materials to ensure the longevity of the diode connection and maintenance of the current throughout. The end result is that the silicone double diode setup has that maintenance and longevity as previously mentioned and…

This project is a safety simulation based assessment using electromagnetic modeling to investigate how MRI radiofrequency fields interact with conductive deep brain stimulation (DBS) implants. A patient inspired phantom was simulated in a 1.5 T MRI environment to gain insights on incident electric fields and localized specific absorption rate (SAR) hotspots. The aim of the…

This project focuses on the validation and characterization of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines generated via prime editing to knockout the BIN1 gene, a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease. Through genomic sequencing, protein analysis, and pluripotency assays, it was confirmed that these edited isogenic lines maintain cellular health and differentiation potential….

This project, Characterization of Intrinsic Visual Biases in Arm Position Estimation, examines how visual information influences the brain’s estimate of arm position during movement planning under changing visual conditions. Using the KINARM End-Point robotic system, participants performed center-out reaching tasks while a visual hand cue was systematically shifted across multiple magnitudes. By analyzing movement errors…

This project aims to provide insights into how humans perform dexterous manipulation by simultaneously preventing object slip and control object pose (position and orientation). We pursued this aim by asking subjects to lift an object with different masses or mass distribution. In our project, we used a force decomposition technique to separate grasp from manipulation…

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which CD45 immune cells destroy the insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreatic islets, leading to loss of glucose homeostasis. This project investigates whether mated female NOD mice have delayed T1D and also if subcutaneously transplanted JAR placental trophoblast cells, encapsulated in alginate hydrogel spirals, can…

This project investigated the feasibility of fabricating miniaturized implantable duckbill valves for hydrocephalus treatment using cleanroom-free methods and alternative elastomeric materials. A benchtop pressure flow testing system was developed and validated to characterize valve performance. While functional valves were not successfully fabricated outside of cleanroom conditions, the study identified key limitations in material compatibility and…

One-way duckbilled valves acting as artificial arachnoid granulations (aAGs) serve as a promising alternative to existing shunt systems utilized in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage for hydrocephalus. Video analysis was utilized to measure the valve opening’s maximum deformation under a range of different flow rates and fluids/viscosities and ensure that its dimensions remain within acceptable limits….