CAREER: Scientific Investigation of Motor Learning to Improve Gait Rehabilitation in Individuals with Neuromuscular Dysfunction

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。每年用于治疗和康复神经肌肉功能障碍患者的社会成本超过4000亿美元。康复的一个主要目标是改善或恢复个人的步态，降低跌倒的风险，增加机动性，恢复独立性。计算机模拟的最新进展可以帮助为受伤的个人制定更好的个性化康复计划。该项目的研究活动将探索在神经肌肉损伤患者中促进健康步态的策略。将开发新的工具、指标和算法，为长期康复护理提供指导。将利用研究活动吸引来自代表性不足群体的学生成为下一代具有社区意识的研究人员。从这个项目中获得的新知识将使人们更好地理解神经肌肉控制和运动学习，目标是提供针对患者的康复计划。该项目是对运动学习的科学调查，将开创创新模式，为步态障碍患者开出最佳的针对患者的康复方案，同时增加STEM对来自代表性不足群体的学生的参与。在这里，新的分裂带步态协议被用来修改和影响健康步态动力学的采用。将构建一个以实验室为中心的模拟工具，其中将包括患者生理和步态指标、肌肉骨骼模拟和临床相关的成本函数，以模拟新步态模式的存储。然后，数据挖掘技术将被用来筛选实验和模拟步态数据，以生成一个临床工具来开出定制的步态康复方案。最后，将利用肌肉骨骼模拟和建模技术的实际操作方面创建互动活动，以增加STEM知识并提高来自代表性不足群体的学生对STEM职业的兴趣。综上所述，这些综合活动将为如何评估、监控和影响运动学习提供新的见解，以推动改善和优化个人运动和健康的更大目标，同时也激励下一代STEM专业人员。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Societal costs attributed to the treatment and rehabilitation of individuals suffering from neuromuscular dysfunction exceeds over $400 billion annually. A major goal of rehabilitation is to improve or restore an individual’s gait, reduce fall risk, increase mobility, and return independence. Recent advancements in computer modeling can help to develop better personalized rehabilitation plans for injured individuals. The research activities in this project will explore strategies for promoting healthy gait in individuals with neuromuscular impairment. New tools, metrics, and algorithms will be developed to provide guidance for long-term rehabilitative care. Research activities will be leveraged to engage students from underrepresented groups to become the next generation of community-minded researchers. The new knowledge gained from this project will lead to a greater understanding of neuromuscular control and motor learning with the goal of delivering patient-specific rehabilitation programs.This project is a scientific investigation of motor learning that will pioneer innovative models to prescribe optimal patient-specific rehabilitation for people with gait disorders while increasing STEM engagement in students from underrepresented groups. Here, novel split-belt gait protocols are used to modify and influence the adoption of healthy gait dynamics. A laboratory-centered simulation tool will be constructed that will incorporate patient physiology and gait metrics, musculoskeletal simulations, and clinically related cost functions to model the storage of new gait patterns. Then data mining techniques will be employed to sift through experimental and simulated gait data to generate a clinical tool to prescribe customized gait rehabilitations. Finally, the hands-on aspects of the musculoskeletal simulations and modeling techniques will be exploited to create interactive activities to increase STEM knowledge and interest in STEM careers for students from underrepresented groups. Together, these integrated activities will yield new insight about how to assess, monitor, and influence motor learning to drive the larger goal of improving and optimizing individual movement and health while also inspiring the next generation of STEM professionals.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.