Date

Feb 07 2025

Time

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Location

700 Park Offices Drive, Suite 007, RTP, NC 27709

Cost

Free

Type

Community
REGISTER

Science by the Slice – Neural Control of Robotic Prosthetic Limbs

Welcome to Science by the Slice! We’re excited to host this hybrid event. We’ll meet in in-person at 700 Park Offices Drive, (behind the Boxyard) to hear this month’s speaker while we enjoy pizza, but space is limited. You can also join live remotely via Sigma Xi’s Facebook page if you’re unable to make it in person. A zoom link will also be sent out to registered attendees.

Neural Control of Robotic Prosthetic Limbs

He (Helen) Huang, Ph.D. & Aaron Fleming, Ph.D

Abstract:

As the population of amputees grows to millions, there is an urgent need for new prosthetics technologies that can provide this large population with the best restoration of normal function possible. Advanced robotic prostheses, such as dexterous prosthetic hands and robotic prosthetic legs, have become commercially available. However, the function of these robotic devices is still limited due to lack of neural control.

In this talk, I will present our research efforts in developing neural-machine interfaces for robotic lower-limb prostheses. We have shown that neural control of robotic prosthetic legs enables individuals with lower limb amputations to seamlessly adapt uneven terrains during locomotion and restore near-normative neuromechanics in standing postural control. Our innovation and engineering approaches may further advance the function of robotic prosthetic limbs and significantly improve the quality of life of individuals with limb amputations.
Speaker Bio – Helen Huang

Dr. He (Helen) Huang is the Jackson Family Distinguished Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University (NC State) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and the Director of the Closed-Loop Engineering for Advanced Rehabilitation (CLEAR) core. She is also the co-director of NIDILRR funded Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center. Her research interest lies in neural-machine interfaces, wearable robotics (robotic prosthetics and exoskeletons), learning-based wearable robot control, wearer-robot interaction and co-adaptation, and human motor control/biomechanics. She was a recipient of the Delsys Prize for Innovation in Electromyography, NIDILRR Switzer Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, ASA Statistics in Physical Engineering Sciences Award, and NC State ALCOA Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award. She is a Fellow of AIMBE, Fellow of IEEE, NC State faculty scholar, and member of the Society for Neuroscience, BMES, American Society of Biomechanics, and AAAS. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering and an Editorial Board Member for IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

For in-person attendees:
RSVP for attending in person is required and due Wednesday, Nov 1st at 12:30 pm. Space is limited. Pizza and drinks will be provided. Please don’t RSVP unless you plan to attend. There will be a waitlist if the RSVP capacity is reached.
For virtual attendees:
There is no deadline to RSVP for attending virtually.
Use the following URL to join Science by the Slice live on Facebook :
www.facebook.com/SigmaXi/
W e will also provide a zoom link to view the event to registered attendees.
Please RSVP only once. RSVP to either join in person or virtually.
We hope you’ll join us remotely or in person for a great hour of science!
Science by the Slice is free and open to any interested members of the public, as well as science journalists and science communicators of all stripes. Feel free to extend this invitation to anyone who might want to attend.
Did you miss past Science by the Slice events? Check out our videos and podcasts of previous speakers: http://www.americanscientist.org/science/
Talks are co-organized with Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC). The RTP chapter of Sigma Xi is a co-organizer and co-sponsor, and encourages any interested scientists to get involved with the chapter and its upcoming events.
Please RSVP to this event using your own personal email (not a listserv email, etc.), which will be used solely to send reminders for the event. We will not keep your email unless you have requested to be added to the list (a button to be added is available on the registration page).PLEASE RSVP ONLY ONCE. Eventbrite will let you sign up multiple times even if you have already RSVP’d.
If you wish to be removed from this list, please email sconcmail-at-gmail-dot-org. This list is opt-in only, so you’re receiving this message because you asked to be on this list. If you are a Sigma Xi member and need to update your location or contact information with Sigma Xi, please email membership-at-sigmaxi-dot-org.

Location

700 Park Offices Drive, Suite 007, RTP, NC 27709