{"id":1786,"date":"2022-05-04T10:29:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T14:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/?page_id=1786"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:49:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:49:34","slug":"medical-device-design","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/medical-device-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical Device Design"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\"><div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_block_row\"><div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h3><strong>Medical Device Design<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Neural Prosthesis:<\/em>\u00a0The latest generation of prosthesis include intelligent artificial controllers that enhance the performance of the prosthesis. We are working with the department of physical therapy to developing an experimental medical device to improve gait in people with muscle weakness associated with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, etc. The device under development by Premkumar Subbukutti uses artificial electrical stimulation to induce contractions in the muscles of the lower leg increasing the push off force while walking.\u00a0 Data from foot pressure sensors, accelerometers, and gyroscopes attached to the body are used by the onboard computer within the device to properly time muscle stimulations.\u00a0 We are developing neural networks to manage the large amount of data collected during the decision process.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1200 alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Neural-Prosthesis1-300x183.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"183\" \/>\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1203 alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Alex1-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Biofeedback Device for Stroke Rehabilitation:<\/em>\u00a0We are also developing another device to provide positive biofeedback to people during stroke rehabilitation gait retraining. The device is being developed by undergraduate student Jazz Click.\u00a0 The third generation of the device includes a Arduino Nano microcontroller, foot pressure sensor, microphone, and lithium batteries.\u00a0 During gait retraining, when the patient\u2019s heel strikes the ground (as desired) a positive tone is emitted from the device providing biofeedback to reinforce the motion.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1206 alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Arduino-Nano.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Arduino-Nano.jpg 225w, https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/files\/2019\/04\/Arduino-Nano-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1786","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1786"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2709,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1786\/revisions\/2709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.wcu.edu\/mtanaka\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}