The 42nd Special Seminar of School of Engineering "Why do Robots need Neuromechanics?"

Call for participants

Published: May 10, 2024

The ability to perform controlled movements is the fundamental basis for interaction with our environment. The high precision of this interaction results from a complex interplay within the central nervous system (CNS), muscles and sensory as well as environmental feedback and is referred to as Neuromechanics. Analysing physiological and pathological human movements, the Department of Rehabilitation & Prevention Engineering (RPE) continuously adds to neuromechanical knowledge and constantly extends its own expertise in this field. This neuromechanical expertise is increasingly being utilized when developing robot-assistive systems aimed for direct human-robot interaction.

The first part of the lecture will focus on Neuromechanics. Starting with how neonates perfect their motor skills so that they very quickly optimise their ability to interact with their environment, control strategies of the CNS to control muscular activation and movement will be highlighted. Besides introducing technical methods for recording and analysing these control strategies, pathological changes in neuromuscular control are also addressed. Using the example of neurorehabilitation, it will be shown, how the detection of pathological changes in neuromuscular control leads to self-adaptation of robotic rehabilitation devices and thus to a technically assisted rehabilitation therapy that is better adapted to patients' actual needs. Since sensory and environmental feedback has a direct impact on neuromuscular control, it can be assumed that physical human-robot interaction impacts CNS strategies used to execute movements. As this aspect is essential for the rehabilitation of impaired movement, Dr Sybele Williams will discuss it separately in the second part of the lecture. Particular emphasis will be placed on the influence of preceding familiarization to an end-effector robot-assisted system on neuromuscular facilitation. Finally, Maximilian Siebert will show, how assistive robotic systems can help to alleviate the nursing crisis. This segment of the lecture will underscore the importance of user involvement and a rigorous user-centered design, alongside biomechanical knowledge, in facilitating the systematic translation of robotics into clinical application.

Details

Date and time

Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 11:10 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Venue

Room 304, Ishikawadai Bldg. 3, Ookayama Campus

Capacity

46 people

Fee

Free

Language

English

Host organization

School of Engineering

Speaker

Prof. Catherine Disselhorst-Klug

Catherine Disselhorst-Klug graduated with a degree in Physics in 1990 and received her Ph.D. in Natural Science from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the RWTH Aachen University in 1996. From 1990 to 2001 she has been a research associate at the Helmholtz-Institute for Biomedical Engineering and until 2009 she has been the Head of the Biophysical Measurement Techniques Research Group. In 2009 she has become a Full Professor and Head of the Department of Rehabilitation & Prevention Engineering, Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Her present scientific emphasis is given to the area of movement biomechanics including neuromuscular co-ordination Her strong background in engineering science in combination with more than 30 years' expertise in movement physiological experience forms the basis for the development of novel devices which can be integrated in prevention and rehabilitation measures. This encompasses among others the development of devices for intelligent technically assisted rehabilitation and early diagnosis and prevention of musculoskeletal dysfunction. Catherine Disselhorst-Klug has more than 90 publications in in peer reviewed Journals and 18 contributions to specialized books. She was significantly involved in the SENIAM recommendations and is currently actively contributing to the CDCE project. She has served as President of the International Society for Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK), has been a member of the Council of the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) and is a recipient of the John Basmajian Award.

Dr. Sybele E. Williams

Sybele E. Williams received the B.Sc. and the M.Phil. degrees in Physics (Pure and Applied) from The University of the West Indies, Trinidad in 1987 and 1993 respectively. She graduated with the M.Sc. Ergonomics from Loughborough University, England in 1996 and received the Ph.D. from the Faculty of Medicine at the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany in 2011.
She was a Lecturer at the Department of Physics, The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, Trinidad for 14 years. During that time, she lectured in Pure and Applied Physics and Ergonomics. As Group Leader for the area Medical Physics and Bioengineering, she developed the M.Sc. in Biomedical Physics with specializations in either Medical Physics or Movement Science & Rehabilitation. In 2017 she joined the Department of Rehabilitation- and Prevention Engineering at the Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University where she holds the position of Senior Researcher. Her particular research interests are focused on biomechanical and neuromuscular aspects of both healthy and pathological movements in the upper extremities, proprioception, feature extraction and activity monitoring. Dr. Williams is a member of the both the International Society of Biomechanics and the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology.

Mr. Maximilian Siebert

Maximilian Siebert, who obtained his M.Sc. in Product Development from RWTH Aachen University, currently serves as a Research Associate in the Department of Rehabilitation & Prevention Engineering at the Institute of Applied Medical Engineering within the same university. His primary research interest centres around the development of assistive robotic devices, with a particular emphasis on caregiving and rehabilitation robots. Maximilian has been the main responsible person for two consecutive research projects "PfleKoRo" and "MoRoBa". His interdisciplinary research endeavours have honed his expertise in user integration and the design of adaptive robotic devices. Additionally, he is a member of both the International Society of Biomechanics and the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology.