NSF Convergence Accelerator: Track H: Restoring Arm Function with Connected Assistance and Rehabilitation Systems

这个项目，融合加速器轨道H：恢复中风后的手臂功能（RAFAS），将开发和翻译一个云连接的、柔软的、可穿戴的康复和辅助平台，为中风幸存者、退伍军人和其他上肢残疾的人恢复手臂功能和独立性。发展过程的核心是中风幸存者、护理人员、职业治疗师、物理治疗师、神经科医生和临床医生。通过新的可穿戴技术恢复中风后手臂功能的愿景远远超出了单个研究者提议的范围。这些社区通过焦点小组、开发测试、正式协议和临床可行性测试来最大限度地发挥这项技术的翻译潜力。RAFAS将使上肢残疾者从目前的“临床”康复模式转变为远程物理康复模式。RAFAS扩大参与的目标是吸引、培训和指导下一代康复和辅助技术创新者，他们专注于使用启发研究，同时加速知识整合和跨越传统边界的交流。主要关注将放在学生和教师谁确定为种族/少数民族，或女性，退伍军人或残疾人。RAFAS通过患者咨询委员会、研究网络研讨会系列，以及研讨会和小组，让工程专业的残疾学生讨论技术发展的挑战和机遇，吸引残疾人士参与。RAFAS支持黑客马拉松，行业小组专注于通过研究经验和指导将辅助技术推向市场和本科生和研究生。最后，针对女高中生的外联活动和职业治疗将鼓励更广泛地参与辅助和康复技术领域。第一阶段的主要成果是：一个最小可行的可穿戴、自适应反重力支撑上肢的原型，可以在家中使用；使用可穿戴传感器进行远程评估和个性化协助的估计和控制算法；一个软件应用程序，使患者和治疗师能够独立使用，并进行差距分析，以确定第二阶段的研究和开发目标，以实现最终的翻译。第二阶段的工作将需要根据利益相关者的反馈和第一阶段的家庭试点优化技术，并进行更大规模的远程康复研究，以产生改善结果的证据，并将远程康复纳入新的保险格局。RAFAS为这一努力带来了技能和专业知识的结合：(1)能够创建轻量级和灵活的软可穿戴机器人，可以在不增加限制的情况下提供重要的帮助；(2)了解如何从嘈杂的原始可穿戴传感器数据中提取重要的临床指标；(3)康复科学的基础知识和最有效的手臂动作，以鼓励和支持职业治疗/物理治疗；(4)建立与人类受试者的综合实验框架以指导正在进行的技术发展的能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project, Convergence Accelerator Track H: Restoring Arm Function After Stroke (RAFAS) will develop and translate a cloud-connected, soft, wearable rehabilitation and assistance platform to restore arm function and independence for stroke survivors, veterans, and others with upper limb disability. At the heart of the development process are stroke survivors, caregivers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, neurologists, and clinicians. The vision of restoring arm function after stroke through new wearable technology is well beyond the scope of a single-investigator proposal. These communities are engaged via focus groups, development testing, formal protocols, and clinical feasibility testing to maximize the translation potential of this technology. RAFAS will enable a paradigm shift from the current ‘in clinic’ model of rehabilitation to one of remote physical rehabilitation for persons with upper limb disability. RAFAS’ broadening participation goal is to attract, train and mentor the next generation of rehabilitation and assistive technology innovators focused on use-inspired research while accelerating knowledge integration and communication across traditional boundaries. Primary attention will be placed on students and faculty who identify as racial/ethnic minorities, or are female, veterans or persons with disabilities. RAFAS engages PWDs via a Patient Advisory Board, a research webinar series, and workshops and panels that bring together engineering students with persons with disabilities to discuss challenges and opportunities for technology development. RAFAS supports hackathons, with industry panels focused on bringing assistive technology to market and undergraduate and graduate students via research experiences and mentoring. Finally, outreach events targeted to female high school students and focused on occupational therapy will encourage broader participation in the fields of assistive and rehabilitation technology. The primary Phase I deliverables are: a minimal viable prototype of a wearable, adaptive antigravity support to the upper limb that can be used in the home; estimation and control algorithms using wearable sensors for remote assessment and individualized assistance; a software app enabling independent use by patients and therapists and a gap analysis to determine research and development goals in Phase II to enable eventual translation. Phase II work will entail optimizing the technology based on feedback from stakeholders and at-home pilots in Phase I and running a larger remote telerehabilitation study to generate evidence of improved outcomes and enable integration of remote rehabilitation into the new insurance landscape. RAFAS brings to this effort a combination of skills and expertise spanning: (1) the ability to create lightweight and flexible soft wearable robots that can apply significant assistance without adding restrictions; (2) the understanding of how to extract important clinic metrics from noisy, raw wearable sensor data; (3) the foundational knowledge of rehabilitation science and the most effective arm movements to encourage and support occupational therapy/physical therapy; and (4) the capability to establish an integrated experimental framework with human subjects to guide ongoing technical development.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.