Students learn about human hand function and mechanization considerations relevant to upper-body prosthetics and orthotics. During the final projects, students utilize human-centered design approaches, like interviews, and read academic literature to develop investigation assistive device concepts that could, one day, improve people’s lives. This is an elective course, taught in the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, open to both upper-division undergraduate and graduate students. Both CoE and non-CoE students welcomed!
Spring 2021
This semester was fully-virtual due to COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place, so the student team projects focused on need-finding interviews, conceptual ideation and background literature — skills that could be readily practiced remotely. Significant physical realization was not required, although some teams opted to do so anyway. Students summited written reports and 3 minute videos summarizing their class projects, available below.
The live showcase event was on Zoom on 6 May 2021 from 1:00 to 2:00 PDT on Zoom. Participants got the chance to watch the videos streamed live while asking questions of the students via interactive Q&A chats on Padlet: https://padlet.com/hstuart9/AHD2021
Those attending the live event can voted for project awards (winners indicated below): Most likely to be commercialized, Best interview narrative, Most likely to be published, Most creative device, Most impressive prototype.
| Development of a Palmar, Localized Haptic Array for Virtual Reality Applications by Team 1: Nicholas Callegari, Katie Henshaw, Heya Kaakeh | Lowered Dexterity in Gaming by Team 2: Arsany Gad, Xiangjiu Wu, Samantha Yang Report |
| Mirror Therapy Augmentation by EMG-EStim Treatment by Team 3: Marcie Diamond, Jared Farley, Priya Vijayakumar  Report | Breathable Splint Design for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Team 4: Ivy Chan, Natali Gallegos, and Michelle Ramirez Report |
| Attenuation of resting tremors via PID control by Team 5: Ashley Reilly, Frederick Houghton  Report | Less Twisting, Better Teeth: Ergonomic Design for Endodontist Tools by Team 6: Justin Radatti, Loren Lee, and Nikhil Gupta  Report |
| Over-Use Warning Glove for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Team 7: Mariam Ayrapetyan, Wenny Miao, Kellen O’Rourke Report | Comfort Controller Design for Improved Computer Video Gaming by Team 8: Dominic Melville, Erin Chang, and Jungpyo Lee  Report |
| Supernumerary Enhancement For Hemiparesis by Team 9: John John Huddleston, Adam Saleh, and Bryan Wong Report | IMU-Controlled Soft Orthotic for Power Grasping by Team 10: Drew McPherson, Jason Torres, Anna Wolfe Report |
| Addressing Dexterity Challenges in the Classroom by Team 11: Ian Miller, Dunja Panic, and Xiaolin Wang Report | Managing the Effects of Hyperhidrosis through Targeted Air Flow Application by Team 12: Miyuki Weldon and Franziska Barthel  Report |
| A Preventative Solution for Repetitive Strain Injury by Team 13: Andrew Plewe, Paul Hsiao, and Tony Ngo Report | Increased Hand Function Confidence after Ischemic Stroke by Team 14: Winnie Lai, Haohong Lin, and Himani Patel Report |
Spring 2020
Each project team presents their proposed study for 12 minutes; you can find the recordings below (there are a total of 9 teams each with 2-3 people). This is part of the Jacob’s Design Showcase, which is hosted remotely this year due to COVID-19. We hope that you enjoy these videos, then join us for a live interactive Q&A event on May 7 from 10a-11a on Zoom. You must pre-register for the event here.
| Welcome -- Prof. Hannah Stuart | Project Grip: A Gamer's Passive Ergonomic Solution to Hand Fatigue and Pain -- Julian and Robert |
| Improved Grasping Ability in Tenosynovitis Patients through Increased Friction -- Renuka and Charit | Wheelchair Pressure Mapping and Alert System -- Anthony, Julie and Kristina |
| Piano Pedagogy Biofeedback Device -- Oliver and Leo | Improving Composition Ability for People with Short-term Arm Injuries -- Kristen and Ryan |
| A Novel Forearm Cuff for C6 SCI Patients -- Erik and Cameron | Automated Mattress Tilter: Redistributing Pressure to Reduce Bed Sores -- Carina, Hope and Bryant |
| EEG-EMG based BCI Controlled Upper-LImb Exoskeleton for Rehabilitation -- Kyelo, Annie and Ella | Parkinson's Project Proposal -- Moriah and Ross |
Spring 2019
Two projects addressed the design of a prosthetic hand for Theo, a 5 year old. Here is some footage of these devices during the Jacobs Design Showcase.