Project description
Bringing smart mechatronic ankle foot orthoses to market
Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are commonly used by patients with stroke, cerebral palsy or spinal cord injuries who exhibit neuromuscular and mobility impairments. Over the last few decades, mechatronic AFOs integrating mechanical, electrical and computer engineering have gained interest, yet none are commercially available for clinicians and the public. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SmartANKLE project will create a training network to enable six doctoral candidates to bring a mechatronic AFO to market. With the expertise of internationally recognised universities, a hospital, and industrial partners, the fellows will use a pioneering smart mechatronic AFO platform to assemble smart AFOs that provide positive torque during walking.
Objective
Mechatronic ankle foot orthoses have recently attracted significant attention as a means for assisting or augmenting gait functions of impaired and healthy individuals. However, this technology has seldom translated into products that are available to clinicians and the general public. To solve this issue, we aim at training six high-skilled professionals who can design and develop solutions that satisfy the needs of all stakeholders and can translate into products. SmartANKLE will establish a comprehensive training program that will provide the six Doctoral Candidates (DCs) with all the skills required to bring the mechatronic ankle foot orthosis concept into the market. The SmartANKLE group brings together four internationally recognized universities, one hospital and three companies. The SmartANKLE DCs will be trained in all the aspects of the development of a radically new Smart Mechatronic Ankle Foot Orthoses (SMAFO) platform. The components of this platform will be used to assemble different SMAFO configurations able to provide positive torque during gait and that can be utilized in different applications, spanning from gait assistance of stroke survivor, training of sport practitioners and human augmentation. The training will cover all phases of product development: from conceptualization, to design, to translation and testing. The DCs will learn to identify the needs of the different users and to investigate the requirements of all stakeholders. The DCs will formulate a tailored career development plan which includes the acquisition of engineering, research, and management skills, in a training that will foster teamwork, open science practices and gender aspects. The DCs will undergo outreach activities aiming at disseminating SmartAnkle’s impact to a wide array of audiences. SmartANKLE will greatly enhance the career perspectives of the DCs in academia and industry and will set an example for a novel research-intensive industrial doctoral network.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Coordinator
4 Dublin
Ireland