It is now time that I make my first blog post. I'm very excited to share the events of my Senior Research Project (SRP) with you all. So far, the process has been incredibly overwhelming. But, in the best way.
My SRP is all about the wonders of prostheses and the biophysics of their inner mechanisms. Prior to starting the project, I found the source of my enthusiasm in MIT professor Hugh Herr. While taking my daily scroll across Facebook, I found a link to his TED Talk on a new type of prosthetic device--the BiOM--a motor-powered prosthesis that responds to human movement by mocking the exact muscle movement of someone with normal gait speeds and walking ability. I would highly recommend watching it if you have 20 minutes to spare.
My SRP concentrates on the foot-ankle device. I'll be testing the device when it's used to walk backwards. It seems simple to your average backwards walker, but it's not. It looks at both the biology and physics of walking, trying to find a happy, energy conserving medium that makes the BiOM usable and efficient.
I'll have more information for you once I learn a little more about the anterior tibialis and torque.
Until then,
Pooja
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