Supervisors

Ravi Vaidyanathan (Mechanical Engineering)
Alison McGregor (Surgery & Cancer)
Hildur Einarsdóttir (Ossur)
Ásgeir Alexandersson (Ossur)

Sensors tracking residual muscle action hold significant potential as control input for robotic limbs. However, reliable signal capture remains a significant barrier to patient use. The Biomechatronics Laboratory at Imperial College has been working with Össur to develop an array of sensors, dubbed the Sensory Motor Interface for Lower Extremity Robots (SMILER), that integrates gait, motion and muscle action input in real-time for control of robotic legs. The primary objective of this joint industrial-academic PhD is to explore the possibility of implementing this sensor suite to control commercial Össur Bionic lower limb prostheses. The program will culminate with a full demonstration on a prosthetic device with a small amputee cohort. Program impact will include introducing new sensing modalities for lower leg prosthetic control and a path to clinical testing and commercialization for patient use.

Student

Filip Paskiewicz