For people with muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy — conditions characterized by degenerating muscle strength — there is a need for an exoskeletal mechanism that allows the person to move their arms about freely. This paper presents a consumer-based design approach in order to construct such an assistive manipulation device and details the initial stages that have been addressed in an orthosis design project within the Applied Science and Engineering Laboratories. Two consumer meetings were held during the initial stages of the design. The results from these meetings are presented. A design principle has been established and an initial set of prototypes evaluated. These will be used to modify subsequent design iterations.

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Apparatus to actively assist neuromotor disabled to have better leg functional control/use. This system serves as a strength enhancer, support device, and attenuator of spastic motions. The disclosed orthosis is worn on the outside of the leg (or legs) and serves as an active/dynamic brace to prevent leg spasms and other untoward leg motion. It is made of lightweight material such as fiberglass or aluminum and is actuated by pneumatic gas sources which are small, portable, and carried with the device. The device is totally self contained and has no external connection. The system has applicability to patients such as: stroke (cerebral vascular accident), TBI (traumatic brain injury), Muscular Dystrophy, and some spinal cord injured.

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A T-shaped member is pivotally mounted to a support plate, and has first and second shape memory wires attached at first ends thereof to opposing portions of the T-shape. Second opposing free ends of the shape memory wires are secured to the support plate. Electrical current is conducted alternately through the first and second shape memory wires to cause the wires to contract in alternating tandem, to thereby cause the T-shaped member to move between first and second positions. Pivotal movement of the T-shaped member can be used to actuate and/or reactivate a switch device.

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A bottoming detector for detecting the movement of a pump shaft beyond a pre-determined distance within a cylinder is disclosed. The pump has a housing defining an elongate cavity filled with fluid, a resilient sheet with an aperture in alignment with the cavity which divides the cavity into first and second compartments, and an elongate shaft disposed within the first compartment of the cavity such that it may be moved into and out of the aperture in the sheet to cause pressure fluctuations in the second compartment. There is also a chamber in fluid communication with the second compartment. In the chamber there is actuating means responsive to excessive pressure in the chamber, that actuates a switch to indicate that the shaft has reached a certain distance into the second compartment.

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This paper focuses on the problem of force-feedback for the human-operator hand when manipulating virtual objects. We propose a method for the computation of feedback-forces that have to be applied on each individual phalanx and jinger of the human hand in order to display pertinent, kinesthetic information about static or dynamic chamcteristics of objects present in the virtual scene. External forces and moments of the manipulated virtual objects have to be mapped on the contact-forces space of the virtual grasp. The method is based on the solution of a nonlinear programming problem, formu-lated by performing a static analysis of a general, multiple contact points virtual grasp. A methodology for modelling interactions within a virtual environment, and performing realistic grasping and manipu-lation, is also presented.

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