As the population of amputees in the U.S. 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 motorized prosthetic legs, have become commercially available. However, the function of these robotic devices is still limited due to lack of neural control and adaptation.
In this talk, I will introduce the research of my lab towards building a symbiotic relationship between humans and wearable, robotic prostheses. We developed neural-machine interfaces and learning-based control to enable prosthesis adaptation to its amputee users, environments, and task contexts. Our innovative approaches will further advance the function of modern prostheses and significantly improve the quality of life of individuals with limb amputation.
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. Her research interest lies in neural-machine interfaces, 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, and NC State ALOCA Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award. She is a Fellow of AIMBE (American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering), NC State faculty scholar, senior member of IEEE, and member of the Society for Neuroscience, BMES, and ASB. She is a current Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, and the Wearable Technologies, and is a guest Editor for the IEEE Transaction on Robotics and Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering.