PhD student Andy Brandt always has a smile on her face and a helping hand for those in need. Working under the direction of Dr. Helen Huang in BME’s CLEAR Core, Andy has been able to study how to create better knee prostheses that adapt to everyday needs, such as walking on uneven ground or even carrying groceries. “Carrying a load makes your muscles contract in different ways that aren’t being mimicked in prostheses today,” Andy explains. “So we think load-adaptive devices could make an important difference for amputees. Imagine if the device was smart enough to automatically change the prosthesis parameters to fit any situation where we interact with the environment – carrying different amounts of load, walking on sand or grass – and how much more amputees might be able to rely on their prosthesis in their everyday life. This is the next stage of work in our lab.” The study, co-authored by Yue Win and Ming Liu, appeared last month in Scientific Reports and was featured by both NC State News and Science360 News.
Congratulations to Andy, Yue, Ming, Helen, and the entire CLEAR core! The work you do is bringing joy to many.