BME Projects

Our project aims to develop a lightweight and modular ankle exoskeleton to assist stroke patients in rehabilitation. Existing solutions are often bulky, difficult to use, and not adaptable to various shoe sizes. Our design integrates a quick-release mechanism to ensure easy, equipping and donning off, improving user experience for patients and physical therapists. The exoskeleton will provide supportive yet lightweight force assistance, enhancing mobility without adding excessive strain. The final prototype will be tested to validate comfort, force application, and user adaptability.

Goal and Objectives

1. Develop a compact, lightweight, and ergonomic exoskeleton
2. Integrate a quick-release mechanism to improve ease of use
3. Optimize force capabilities and manufacturability
4. Accommodate foot sizes from 7 to 13
5. Ensure the total weight does not exceed 300g
6. Finalize prototype testing and documentation for future manufacturing

Sponsor/Advisor

• Kaushal Patel: kaushahp@uci.edu
• Mark Walter: m.walter@uci.edu
• David Copp: dcopp@uci.edu

Current gel imagers on the market are expensive and not customizable leading to increased lab expenses. To address this we will design a gel imager that allows for customizable filter swapping and standard smartphone image capture, saving the sponsor’s lab space and funding. The gel imager will be adjustable to various transilluminator models and smartphones. Additionally, the filter exchanger will be utilize user controlled tuning to swap and stack optical filters for gel electrophoresis analysis.

Pulse Protectors:

Dr. Tang MicroBiomechanics Lab

Introduction:

There has been an increase in the use of pacemakers—devices used to regulate irregular heartbeats through electrical stimulation— with implantation rates from 55.3 to 72.6 per 100,000 from 2008 to 2017 [1]. Conventionally, these demands would be met with a leaded pacemaker, which is implanted within the left pectoral region with a lead running through the veins into the heart. However, recently there has been a shift in the market towards leadless pacemakers. One such device, the Medtronic Micra, is placed within the right ventricle such that the device is able to directly stimulate the heart without having the more traditional design of leads from the pacemaker to the ventricle. The wires flowing through the heart are one of the major causes of failures in pacemakers traditionally with Dr. Udo’s ~6 year follow up study citing 5.54% of the population having lead...