Screen Readers Skip to Content
🖶 Print page

Working with Smart Materials to Make Prosthetic Limbs More Lifelike

NOTE: This article is over 3 years old and may not reflect current information. It may still be useful for research but should be verified for accuracy and relevance.

Published: 2017-10-12
Author: University of Houston | Contact: uh.edu
Peer-Reviewed Publication: N/A
Library of Related Papers: Prostheses - Prosthetics Publications

Synopsis: UH engineer receives award to pursue work with smart materials for artificial muscles, tendons which would make prosthetic limbs more lifelike.

UH engineer receives NSF CAREER Award to pursue work with smart materials - Artificial muscles, tendons would make prosthetic limbs more lifelike.

advertisements

Main Digest

UH engineer receives NSF CAREER Award to pursue work with smart materials - Artificial muscles, tendons would make prosthetic limbs more lifelike.

Related Publications:

An engineer from the University of Houston has received a $500,000 CAREER award from the National Science Foundation to develop artificial muscle and tendons for dexterous, compliant and affordable prostheses.

Zheng Chen, Bill D. Cook Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering, said the resulting prosthetics would be more comfortable and work more efficiently than current models, which involve motorized metallic parts.

(Article continues below image.)
Zheng Chen, Bill D. Cook Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering, has received a NSF CAREER award to develop artificial muscle and tendons - (University of Houston).
Zheng Chen, Bill D. Cook Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering, has received a NSF CAREER award to develop artificial muscle and tendons - (University of Houston).
(Continued...)

Chen, director of the Bio-inspired Robotics and Controls Lab at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, works with smart materials to devise improved prostheses. These smart materials - Chen works with dielectric elastomers - have built-in actuation and sensing capabilities, allowing them to more closely mimic human muscles.

The project involves bio-inspired design, fabricating the device and developing a mechanism to control movement of prosthetic hands, using a material which can be activated by an electrical voltage.

Chen and his colleagues have developed a prototype of artificial muscle and tendon structure. "It achieves some performance, but we need to improve the performance," he said. "It is an integrated sensor and actuator, so the person can sense objects, grasp and participate in other activities."

He will use nanotechnology to push the material to achieve the necessary performance; it then will be used to construct artificial muscle and tendons.

NSF CAREER awards are granted to promising junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars, and recipients also do educational outreach to promote a better understanding of science and technology.

In addition to his research, Chen will work with graduate and undergraduate students to train next-generation engineers to work with modeling and fabrication of devices using smart materials and structures.

Chen said he will develop a graduate-level class involving smart materials and structure. His lab also will provide an environment for undergraduate students working on senior design projects, he said.

Tweet This Add to Facebook Post to Reddit
advertisements

Disabled World is an independent disability community established in 2004 to provide disability news and information to people with disabilities, seniors, their family and/or carers. See our homepage for informative news, reviews, sports, stories and how-tos. You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook or learn more on our about us page.

Disabled World provides general information only. The materials presented are never meant to substitute for professional medical care by a qualified practitioner, nor should they be construed as such. Financial support is derived from advertisements or referral programs, where indicated. Any 3rd party offering or advertising does not constitute an endorsement.


Cite This Page (APA): University of Houston. (2017, October 12). Working with Smart Materials to Make Prosthetic Limbs More Lifelike. Disabled World. Retrieved June 1, 2023 from www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/prostheses/dielectric-elastomers.php

Permalink: <a href="https://www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/prostheses/dielectric-elastomers.php">Working with Smart Materials to Make Prosthetic Limbs More Lifelike</a>