Content of the project

The scope of this Minor in Biomedical Technologies semester thesis includes the precise identification of the required functionalities of the device and the design a modular amplifier, which is capable of recording an EMG during FES. The result is a device that brings along many features and several interfaces (e.g. to a FES-device), while offering a large flexibility for a broad range of applications and needs. The analog amplifier-electronics are based on the schematics from Rüdiger Rupp. Further information coming.

This project is being carried out at the CNBI of the Center for Neuroprosthetics and Institute of Bioengineering at the EPFL in collaboration with the Orthopaedic University Hospital II in Heidelberg under the supervision of:

Robert Leeb, Ph.D. and Prof. José del R. Millán (CNBI, EPFL)
Rüdiger Rupp, Ph.D. (Orthopaedic University Hospital II in Heidelberg)

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This project is being carried out at the LSRO of the Microengineering Insitute at the EPFL in collaboration with the RELab of the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the ETHZ under the supervision of:

Laura Santos-Carreras and Prof. Hannes Bleuler (LSRO, EPFL)
Yeongmi Kim, Ph.D. and Prof. Roger Gassert (RELab, ETHZ)

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Abstract – This paper provides a robustness analysis of the method we recently developed for rhythmic movement assistance using adaptive oscillators. An adaptive oscillator is a mathematical tool capable of extracting high-level features (i.e. amplitude, frequency, offset) of a quasi-sinusoidal measured movement, a rhythmic flexion-extension of the elbow in this case. By the use of a simple inverse dynamical model, the system can predict the torque produced by a human participant, such that a fraction of this estimated torque is fed back through a series elastic actuator to provide movement assistance. This paper objectives are twofold. First, we introduce a new 1 DOF assistive device developed in our lab. Second, we derive model-based predictions and conduct experimental validations to measure the variations in movement frequency as a function of the open parameters of the inverse dynamical model. As such, the paper provides an estimation of the robustness of our method due to model approximations. As main result, the paper reveals that the movement frequency is particularly robust to errors in the estimation of the damping coefficient. This is of high interest for the applicability of our approach, this parameter being in general the most difficult to identify.

Publication

Poster

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Content of the project

This project is the continuation of the previous work carried out by F. A. Delaloye, who designed the mechanical setup used during this semester project. The goals of this project were defined similar to the structure of the report and were very multifarious going from mechanical design to high level control and some experiments with healthy humans:

• Finalization of the mechanical design of the actual setup (Chap. 2)

• Designing a new, flexible hardware setup including several safety improvements (Chap. 2)

• Finalization of the electronics (Chap. 3)

• Finalization of the low level control (Chap. 4)

• Establishment of the communication between the Maxon EPOS and MATLAB (Chap. 5)

• Creating an easy to use library in MATLAB and Simulink with functions / blocks (Chap. 5)

• Assistance using an adaptive oscillator and an inverse dynamic model for torque estimation (Chap. 5)

• Setting up an experimental protocol (Chap. 6)

• Performing experiments with healthy people and analyzing the results (Chap. 6)

• Writing a publication on the experimental results for the ICORR 2011 taking place in Zurich, Switzerland (corresponds to Chap. 6)

Note: Chapter 5 is thought as an introducing guide about the software libraries and its functionalities for new students continuing this project.

Report

The publication can be found here.

This project has been carried out at the BioRob Laboratory of the Bioengineering Insitute at the EPFL under the supervision of:

Renaud Ronsse, Ph.D., Alessandro Crespi, Ph.D. and Prof. Auke Ian Ijspeert

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International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics
June 29 – July 1, 2011, ETH Zurich, Science City, Switzerland