In a world where grant-seeking academics create bunk solutions that sound great on paper, a young researcher stands up to the system. Does he succeed? No, but this is what he thought about ...

I present the design process for the Powered Pediatric Exoskeleton at some Non-Invasive Brain Machine Interface Systems Lab back in 2014.

To the disabled children for whom I was designing, I wanted the experience of my work to communicate that one’s state of mind is more important than circumstance, and that he or she should acknowledge and use the capabilities and resources they have to keep moving forward.

I was the project and mechanical design lead for the development of rehabilitative robotic legs for children with ambulatory disabilities from cerebral palsy. Though walking is ideal for most humans, what most caregivers overlook is that children who have never been able to walk (who account for a large majority of the non-ambulatory pediatric population) are much less inclined to walk than children who have lost the ability to walk. The same sentiment holds true for adults. Instead, the never-walked-before populace is simply interested in more independence — moving better with no emphasis on walking.

The goal is independence, not walking. Though parents and doctors have the best of intentions, their concern about the child’s potential for independence cannot equate to actual aid until a cure is found. Until then, their fear is infectious and disability is stigmatized. The best rehabilitation centers in the world prescribe programs that are long and only marginally helpful for most. Exoskeletons currently present no evidence of increased rehabilitative efficacy compared to existing practices. Additionally, if strapping a 6 month old able-bodies infant into an exoskeleton is unlikely to improve its gait learning rate

How does one truly help the disabled in the interim? True help is help that, over time, will no longer be needed, as opposed to using one’s strength to fix (or enable) another’s weakness. Allow children to be an active part of their own solution rather than a passive spectator waiting for others, who don’t have their problems, to “fix them.”

First, to address the social dimension to rehabilitation, I propose establishing a disabilities gym and body-hacking space where children with disability X are paired with a mentor with a similar disability. They will train and explore movement together supplementary to an abridged physical therapy regimen. Then, if they can think of ideas that are best suited to their needs and capabilities, there is a creative space close-by to design and innovate devices along with a team of doctors and engineers ready to assist. This not only addresses the physical challenges of the child, but their mindset, satellite structure, and setting as well.

The design direction focuses on broadening the scope of movement for the never-walked-before population in order to move more independently, rather than fixating on — but not excluding — the very specific and complicated human gait cycle. This opens up the possibilities for types of movement where the disabled may even exceed normal human potential with quadrupedal movement, extendable arms, hovercraft, Dr. Octopus appendages, etc.

What if one day our Para-Olympians move better than our Olympians, through their own ingenuity? How would that change the nature of how most people think about disability, the disabled, and their own obstacles? Would it communicate that state of mind is more important than circumstance?

I helped the Lab develop a 6-degree-of-freedom walking exoskeleton prototype, but am more interested in taking prosthetics and orthotics in this new direction.

In a world where grant-seeking academics create bunk solutions that sound great on paper, a young researcher stands up to the system. Does he succeed? No, but this is what he thought about ...

I present the design process for the Powered Pediatric Exoskeleton at some Non-Invasive Brain Machine Interface Systems Lab back in 2014.

To the disabled children for whom I was designing, I wanted the experience of my work to communicate that one’s state of mind is more important than circumstance, and that he or she should acknowledge and use the capabilities and resources they have to keep moving forward.

I was the project and mechanical design lead for the development of rehabilitative robotic legs for children with ambulatory disabilities from cerebral palsy. Though walking is ideal for most humans, what most caregivers overlook is that children who have never been able to walk (who account for a large majority of the non-ambulatory pediatric population) are much less inclined to walk than children who have lost the ability to walk. The same sentiment holds true for adults. Instead, the never-walked-before populace is simply interested in more independence — moving better with no emphasis on walking.

The goal is independence, not walking. Though parents and doctors have the best of intentions, their concern about the child’s potential for independence cannot equate to actual aid until a cure is found. Until then, their fear is infectious and disability is stigmatized. The best rehabilitation centers in the world prescribe programs that are long and only marginally helpful for most. Exoskeletons currently present no evidence of increased rehabilitative efficacy compared to existing practices. Additionally, if strapping a 6 month old able-bodies infant into an exoskeleton is unlikely to improve its gait learning rate

How does one truly help the disabled in the interim? True help is help that, over time, will no longer be needed, as opposed to using one’s strength to fix (or enable) another’s weakness. Allow children to be an active part of their own solution rather than a passive spectator waiting for others, who don’t have their problems, to “fix them.”

First, to address the social dimension to rehabilitation, I propose establishing a disabilities gym and body-hacking space where children with disability X are paired with a mentor with a similar disability. They will train and explore movement together supplementary to an abridged physical therapy regimen. Then, if they can think of ideas that are best suited to their needs and capabilities, there is a creative space close-by to design and innovate devices along with a team of doctors and engineers ready to assist. This not only addresses the physical challenges of the child, but their mindset, satellite structure, and setting as well.

The design direction focuses on broadening the scope of movement for the never-walked-before population in order to move more independently, rather than fixating on — but not excluding — the very specific and complicated human gait cycle. This opens up the possibilities for types of movement where the disabled may even exceed normal human potential with quadrupedal movement, extendable arms, hovercraft, Dr. Octopus appendages, etc.

What if one day our Para-Olympians move better than our Olympians, through their own ingenuity? How would that change the nature of how most people think about disability, the disabled, and their own obstacles? Would it communicate that state of mind is more important than circumstance?

I helped the Lab develop a 6-degree-of-freedom walking exoskeleton prototype, but am more interested in taking prosthetics and orthotics in this new direction.