NRI: INT: COLLAB: Muscle Ultrasound Sensing for Intuitive Control of Robotic Leg Prostheses

该项目的研究目标是通过整合超声传感——截肢（即残肢）肌肉形态的超声成像——来控制犹他轻量级腿，从而实现对下肢假肢的意志控制。这种动力假肢由动力脚踝和膝盖模块组成，重量大约是当代技术的一半。项目团队将使用声速传感器与机械传感器相结合来推断用户在预期行走模式或关节运动时的意图，例如从平地行走到坡道或楼梯的运动转换。然后，该团队将进行人体实验，比较经股截肢患者在启用和不启用各种声压控制算法的情况下行走的能力。如果成功，该项目将对国民健康和福利产生积极影响，因为它将改善截肢者的生活，提高他们的独立性和行走能力，并减轻截肢带来的不良后果，如害怕跌倒和长期关节健康。这项工作的其他更广泛的影响包括为退伍军人和未被充分代表的少数民族增加本科生和研究生的研究经验，以及为K-12学生开展外展活动。机器人假肢可以在步态周期中产生净正能量并主动调节关节运动，从而克服传统被动假肢的局限性。然而，为了使机器人假肢在现实环境中安全有效地运行，必须克服科学障碍。该项目的目标是填补关于将用户意志集成到轻型机器人踝关节和膝关节假体控制中的知识空白。研究小组将使用可穿戴式超声波探头测量使用者残肢的肌肉收缩。该项目的具体目标是：1)确定最佳设计准则，将声速传感集成到最先进的动力膝关节假肢中；2)确定最能及时、准确、可靠地预测用户进行不同行走方式意图的具体算法；3)了解如何将声学和机械传感器收集的信息最佳地结合起来，在特定的行走模式下控制机器人假肢。算法将在轻型机器人踝关节和膝关节假体上实施，以评估为用户提供预期意志控制将导致在复杂和不确定环境中增强性能的假设，从而促进机器人假体与人类用户的无缝集成。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。

The research objective of this project is to enable volitional control over lower-limb prostheses through the integration of sonomyographic sensing - the ultrasound imaging of amputated (i.e., residual) limb muscle morphology - to control the Utah Lightweight Leg. This powered prosthetic leg is comprised of powered ankle and knee modules, and is roughly half the weight of contemporary technologies. The project team will use sonomyographic sensors in combination with mechanical sensors to infer the user's intent in anticipation of ambulation mode or joint motion, for example locomotor transitions from walking over level ground to ramps or stairs. The team will then perform human subject experiments comparing the ability of participants with transfemoral amputation to ambulate with and without various sonomyographic control algorithms enabled. If successful, the project will have positive impact on national health and welfare by improving the lives of individuals with amputation in terms of their independence and ambulation abilities, and by mitigating undesirable secondary effects of amputation such as a fear of falling and long-term joint health. Additional broader impacts of the work include enhanced undergraduate and graduate research experiences for veterans and underrepresented minorities, as well as outreach activities to K-12 students.Robotic leg prostheses can overcome the limitations of conventional passive prostheses by generating net-positive energy during the gait cycle and actively regulating joint motion. However, scientific barriers must be overcome for robotic leg prosthesis to safely and effectively operate in real-world settings. The goal of this project is to fill the knowledge gap regarding the integration of the user's volition in the control of lightweight robotic ankle and knee prostheses. The research team will measure muscle contractions of the user's residual limb using wearable ultrasound probes. Specific objectives of this project are: 1) to identify optimal design guidelines to integrate sonomyographic sensing into state-of-the-art powered knee-ankle prostheses; 2) to determine specific algorithms that best anticipate the user's intention to perform different ambulation modes in a timely, accurate, and reliable manner; and 3) to understand how to optimally combine information gathered from sonomyography and mechanical sensors to control a robotic leg prosthesis within specific ambulation modes. Algorithms will be implemented on a lightweight robotic ankle and knee prosthesis to evaluate the hypothesis that providing users with anticipatory volitional control will lead to enhanced performance in complex and uncertain environments, thereby fostering seamless integration of robotic prostheses with human users.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.