I-Corps, Humo Base: Ankle Complex Wearable for Kinematic and Kinetic Movement Data Capture and Assessment

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是通过可穿戴的液态金属传感器解决方案，改善在球场、仓库或为国家服务的体育、工业或军事运动员的健康和表现。在非接触性伤害中，最大的过度使用伤害之一发生在脚和脚踝，每年因错过休假和康复费用而造成数百万美元的损失。因此，这款可穿戴解决方案旨在评估当前的运动模式，并作为康复前设备发挥功能，提供评估，警告佩戴者和从业者潜在的过度使用运动模式。此外，这款可穿戴设备还可以作为一种训练设备，以确保正确的康复技术和“重返工作或娱乐”的运动评估范围，确保就佩戴者何时可以以及应该恢复活动做出有效的决策。基于可穿戴液态金属技术，该设备可以应用于人体所有其他关节，创造了广泛的用途，扩大了我们的潜在客户基础，超越了脚踝运动前康复。这个i-Corps项目将研究设备的精度带出了实验室，进入了实际进行培训的环境中。为该项目设计的可穿戴设备由软液态金属传感器和机器学习计算平台组成，该平台在佩戴者的脚和脚踝周围既不受限制，也不引人注目。通过利用光学运动捕获系统的黄金标准进行的试点测试，已经确定了特定的传感器位置，这些位置与脚踝复合体的单平面和三平面运动(S)中的角度变化提供线性关系。与无线通信功能相结合，这款可穿戴设备将使经理、教练和其他人类表现从业者有机会检测导致肌肉失衡并经常导致非接触性伤害的不对称腿部运动模式。通过用户体验(UX)测试协议，软件开发将实现可定制的用户界面和报告，以回答“客户的声音”，从头开始寻找数据。根据实验室测试的结果，下一步是对可穿戴设备进行现场测试，并将数据可视化与适当的移动设备同步，以更深入地了解客户的需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project will be to improve the health and performance of sports, industrial, or military athletes on a court, in a warehouse, or serving our country, through a wearable liquid metal sensor solution. One of the largest over-use injuries that is prevalent in non-contact injuries, occurs at the foot and ankle, resulting in millions of dollars lost each year through missed time off and rehabilitation costs. Therefore, this wearable solution is designed to assess current movement patterns and function as a pre-rehabilitation device, which provides an assessment to warn wearers and practitioners of potential over-use movement patterns. In addition, the wearable can be used as a training device to ensure proper rehabilitation techniques and "back to work or play" range of motion assessments, ensuring effective decision making about when the wearer can and should return to activity. Based on wearable liquid metal technology, this device can be applied to all other joints in the human body, creating a wide range of uses which broaden our potential customer base beyond sports pre-rehabilitation of the ankle. This I-Corps project takes the precision of research equipment out of the laboratory and into the environment where training actually occurs. The wearable device designed for this project is comprised of soft liquid metal sensors and a machine-learning computational platform that is both unrestrictive and non-obtrusive around the wearer's feet and ankles. Through pilot testing utilizing the gold standard of an optical motion capture system, specific sensor positions have been identified that provide linear relationships to the angular changes in single and tri-planar movement(s) of the ankle complex. Paired with wireless communication capabilities, the wearable device will allow managers, coaches, and other practitioners of human performance the opportunity to detect asymmetrical leg movement patterns that cause muscular imbalances and often lead to non-contact injuries. Through user experience (UX) testing protocols, software development will enable customizable user interfaces and reports that answers the "voice of the customer", looking for data from the ground up. Based on the results from laboratory testing, the next step is to field test the wearable device and synchronize data visualizations with appropriate mobile devices in order to gain deeper insight on customer wants and needs.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.