The Beacon 2018 | Issue 2 Final Beacon - April 2018 PDF | Page 12

CLASSROOM CORNER:
ROBOTICS RESEARCH
By: The University of Tulsa, College of Engineering and Natural Sciences,Mechanical Engineering Department
and Anne McCoy, LLH Occupational Therapist
W
e, at the Little Light
House (LLH), are so
pleased to announce our
participation as research
collaborators in a National Science
Foundation Grant with The University
of Tulsa (TU)!
The biological robotics research
group in TU’s Department of
Mechanical Engineering has
received a grant from the National
Science Foundation to investigate
interventions that may improve
the quality of life for children with
hypotonia through rehabilitation
robotics. The condition causes
low strength and tone in neck
muscles and can prevent or delay
development of functional upright
and independent control of the head.
According to principal investigator,
Professor Joshua Schultz, current
therapeutic practice is to support
the child’s head from a lightweight,
dynamic suspension frame using a
cable and head strap. The suspension
however, does little to help children
learn how to control their heads using
their own muscle power. Professor
Schultz added, “We want to help
children support their own heads
by using a robotic device to give
them support when they need it and
relinquish it when they don’t.”
12 | THE BEACON
motor skills and engagement in the
classroom!” says Anne McCoy, LLH
Occupational Therapist.
“Rehabilitation robotics is coming
out of its infancy and finding better
ways to help people with disabilities
live fuller, more active lives in broader
participation with the rest of society,”
Schultz said. After the final phase
of development, the device will
be evaluated in a clinical setting
to determine its effectiveness in
strengthening the musculature of
the neck to allow more independent
head control over time.
“Developing upright and stable
head control is critical to motor and
cognitive development in children,
and this project provides innovative
opportunities to create a new
environment to assist children to do
so,” says Julie Wilson, LLH Physical
Therapist.
The TU research team will collaborate
directly with our LLH physical and
occupational therapists to study
muscles of the human neck and
incorporate computer modeling.
“We are so excited about the
potential of this new robotic system
for encouraging development of
independent head control, which
will in turn affect a child’s visual