Supported by a $450,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, the
The CAREN system will be a critical part of the universitys neuromusculoskeletal, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder research initiatives involving wounded warriors, warfighters and student veterans, Dr. Quillen said. The system will greatly facilitate our ongoing interdisciplinary research to analyze human mobility and function and to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by increasing their independence and community reintegration.
USF purchased the CAREN system with the support of grant from the National Science Foundation.
This system integrates a lot of technologies typically used individually like a split belt treadmill with force-sensing plates, a moveable base and motion capture analysis to really help us better understand how an individual walks and moves in different terrains and environments, said Kyle Reed, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering.
The CAREN project will bring together more than 20 investigators with expertise in rehabilitation engineering and science from the colleges of Engineering, Medicines School Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Behavioral and Community Sciences, Nursing, and Virtual and Performing Arts. They will collaborate with researchers from James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and Draper Laboratories.
L to R: Seok Hun Kim, PT, PhD, of the USF School of Physical Therapay & Rehabilitation Sciences, with Kyle Reed, PhD, and Stephanie Carey, PhD, of the College of Engineering, look at the incoming information instantaneously displayed on CARENs control panel.
The system bridges the gap between the controlled environment of a laboratory or clinical rehabilitation setting and the uncontrolled community environments experienced in daily life.
CAREN gives us a lot of opportunities to create variable scenarios that are closest to real-life environments, said Seok Hun Kim, PT, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences.
Dr. Kim works with patients living with stroke, ataxia and other neurological disorders that significantly increase the risk for falls. We can gradually increase the level of difficulty of the exercises based on patients performance using the CAREN system. This allows patients to safely push their limits while working to regain balance control, he said.
Dr. Carey secures the safety harness attached to Gordon Beadle before he begins a simulation exercise to try out his new prosthetic leg.
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USF Obtains NSF Grant for 3D Virtual Reality Research