ExoTester

Mobile CPM (Mk 1)

Vision

The exo-arm I have developed can be applied to either an arm or leg, and will replace the CPM’s spot in post-surgical recovery approaches. Not only is it much less expensive of a design, but the exo-arm also has an advantage in portability; it’s battery powered, and can be used in a home environment. In the past, patient files and goals consisted of monitoring and improving ROM, which can now be done using an app bluetooth-paired to the arm. Now, a single doctor will be able to prescribe the ‘initial’ and ‘goal’ degrees of movement, and the arm will take care of the rest from home. This optimization in treatement will lower cost of recovery for patients as well as the time it takes to regain function. The arm also has assistive capabilities for patients who have not yet fully regained motor/ligament function, which will lessen dependency on in-home care.

There are two stages to this project’s development.. In the fall, I plan to establish bluetooth communication between the exo-arm hardware and the mobile app. Additionally, basic controls and data transfer through the app interface will have to be working before moving onto stage two.

In the spring, use of this control and data is going to be implemented within the app. This is the point at which functions like Continuous Passive Motion therapy get tested and optimized, as well as the graphing and patient-filing of data collected. I will be consulting with professors from the kinesthesiology department for effectiveness and improvement of my CPM function as well as nursing simulation coordinator Ms. Vander Wal for in-app filing of patient data.

Team

Me, myself, and I are the core members. I am a double major in physics and computer science (BS, BCS+), and am looking to commercialize this project following my graduation. Professionals from the computer science, nursing, and kinesthesiology departments are being consulted throughout the development of this project, as there is a lot of specialized knowledge that I don’t have. My advisor for this project is Professor Vander Linden, Dean of Computer Science at Calvin. This idea has been pondered for the last few years, and I finally built a working prototype this summer – the senior project is primarily regarding the digital equivalent of that first physical prototype (an operable iOS app).

Calvin

Here is a link to the project site for Calvin Senior Design: https://cs.calvin.edu/courses/cs/396/hplantin/projects.html