CAREER: Neuromuscular Coordination (NeuroCoord)-Guided Human-Machine Interaction for Quantifying and Improving Motor Function after Stroke

中风是美国长期残疾的主要原因，它对上肢（UE）功能产生负面影响。由于人口老龄化和中风存活率的增加，UE仍然需要有效的中风康复。这个教师早期职业发展计划（CAREER）项目旨在创建一个自适应神经肌肉协调（NeuroCoord）指导的人机交互平台，用于中风康复。该平台将使研究人员能够通过测量手臂的大脑、肌肉和力量数据对运动障碍进行客观评估。该研究还将使研究人员能够设计一种新的个性化康复模型，以改善中风后UE的运动功能。项目的成功完成将通过促进预期的运动控制而有益于UE运动功能。此外，研究活动和成果将被整合到教育和推广计划，为各种学生，包括代表性不足的学生和当地社区members.The研究者的长期目标是在研究中开发一个变革性的康复框架，NeuroCoord指导适应性中风康复。该框架的目标是激活新的肌间协调模式，通过与界面的物理交互，使研究人员能够对运动障碍进行客观的多模式评估，并设计个性化的康复模型，以改善神经损伤后的运动功能。这个CAREER项目将创建一个自适应NeuroCoord引导的人机交互平台，用于自动量化运动障碍，并设计一种新的运动来改善中风后的UE运动功能。该研究计划包括两个目标，即开发脑卒中UE康复NeuroCoord框架的两个重要组成部分：（1）多模态人机交互平台的开发与评估（大脑，肌肉，和运动活动）在等长和几种运动条件下中风后运动障碍的量化，以及（2）通过自适应NeuroCoord改变异常的肌间协调，指导康复训练。该项目将为设计一种新颖的脑卒中康复人机交互平台提供科学基础，该平台最初由神经肌肉控制原理驱动。这个人机交互平台基于先进的脑成像技术、新型康复机器人设备、肌电图和机器学习原理的创新整合。该平台的应用有可能推进该领域的知识，开发自动化运动评估方法与多模态信号结合的变化，在皮层组织，肌肉协调，和生物力学力耦合后的治疗exercises.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S. It negatively impacts the upper extremity (UE) function. A significant need for effective stroke rehabilitation for the UE remains, owing to the increase in an aging population and stroke survival rates. This Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) project aims to create an adaptive neuromuscular coordination (NeuroCoord)-guided human-machine interaction platform for stroke rehabilitation. The platform will enable researchers to make objective assessments of motor impairment with the brain, muscular, and force data measured in the arm. The study will also allow researchers to design a new, individualized rehabilitation model to improve motor function in the UE after stroke. Successful completion of the project will benefit UE motor function by facilitating movement control as intended. Also, research activities and outcomes will be integrated into education and outreach programs for various students, including underrepresented students and local community members.The investigator’s long-term goal in research is to develop a transformative rehabilitation framework, NeuroCoord-guided adaptive stroke rehabilitation. The framework targets the activation of new intermuscular coordination patterns, through physical interaction with the interface enabling researchers to make objective, multi-modal assessments of motor impairment and design an individualized rehabilitation model for improving motor functions after neurological injuries. This CAREER project will create an adaptive NeuroCoord-guided human-machine interaction platform for automated quantification of motor impairment and design a novel exercise to improve UE motor function after stroke. The Research Plan includes two objectives to develop two important building blocks of the NeuroCoord framework for stroke UE rehabilitation: (1) development and evaluation of a human-machine interaction platform for multi-modal (brain, muscular, and kinetic activity) quantification of motor impairment post-stroke under isometric and several movement conditions and (2) altering abnormal intermuscular coordination by an adaptive NeuroCoord-guided rehabilitation exercise. The project will provide the scientific foundation for designing a novel human-machine interaction platform for stroke rehabilitation, originally motivated by neuromuscular control principles. This human-machine interaction platform is based on the innovative integration of advanced brain imaging technology, a novel rehabilitation robotic device, electromyography, and machine learning principles. The application of the platform has the potential to advance the field’s knowledge for developing automated motor assessment methods with multi-modal signals incorporating changes in cortical organization, muscle coordination, and biomechanical force coupling after the therapeutic exercise.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.