Rehabilitation for paraplegics: Northeastern University Capstone Design Project 2013

Spinal cord injury (SCI) patients suffer from muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease due to the inability to exercise and use their lower extremities. Two systems to aid in helping SCI patients exercise have been developed: (1) An instrumented ergometer for monitoring cardiovascular health and (2) a bone-loading device for addressing osteoporosis. Instrumented Ergometer: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Cambridge, MA uses a modified ergometer, in which electrodes stimulate the paralyzed muscles in order to flex and extend the legs during rowing. This therapy exercises big muscles, thereby increasing cardiac demand compared to arms-only exercises. However, current ergometers lack an effective means of providing biometric feedback to indicate performance and progression, thus a means of determining a method to develop maximum cardiovascular capacity. An ergometer was instrumented to measure forces exerted on the footplates, on the handle, and at the front and backstops of seat position and motion of the seat. This biometric feedback will help to characterize performance and monitor technique. Bone Loading Device: Bone loss occurs in SCI patients because they do not have mechanical load on their bones (disuse osteoporosis). A bone-loading device has been designed to apply axial load to the lower leg using a variable stroke mechanism and constraints, which allows for variable force and frequency. These two devices will hopefully aid in improving rehabilitation therapies to address cardiovascular and bone health in SCI patients.