An Integrated Gait and Balance Analysis System to Define Human Locomotor Control
Abstract
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 and the Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act for 2014 allocated $10.7M to assist Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) and to enhance their research and education capabilities in scientific areas relevant to the defense mission. The FY 2014 program supports the acquisition of research equipment and instrumentation to augment existing capabilities and to develop new capabilities that will facilitate greater participation in DoD research programs and encourage more students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This proposal from Principal Investigator, Dr. Walter Childers, requests support for acquisition of a Gait Real-time Analysis Interactive Lab (GRAIL) from Motek Medical to provide a dedicated solution for locomotor control research and gait analysis education at Alabama State University. GRAIL uses an instrumented dual-belt treadmill, a motion-capture system, within a synchronized Virtual Reality (VR) environment. The proposed equipment will support student and faculty research in biomechanics and motor control in several training programs at the university. The GRAIL system will play an active educational role to train students on gait principles and movement analysis. It will be important in the UniversityÕs STEM and high school outreach programs. The proposed equipment will be used by the Biomechanics and Motor Control Laboratory at Alabama State University as a non-invasive method to uncover fundamental principles of human movement control. Proposed studies will measure biomechanical outputs (muscle activity, joint forces) while controlling the environment and movement task, then mathematical models will be applied to calculate the motion control strategy. The requested equipment has strong potential to enhance STEM programs through research advances and specific enhancement to infrastructure that may benefit multiple degree programs across the university. New STEM programs can be created around the new capabilities delivered through the proposed system. Specifically, biomedical engineering and mathematics students can participate in multidisciplinary research projects with neuroscience and allied health emphases. This possibility strengthens the university s training programs in ways that could be beneficial to training the next generation of multidisciplinary-trained scientists that might participate in the DoD workforce.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1510058
Entities
People
- Walter Childers
Organizations
- Alabama State College
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense