Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 29

The new brace was made using 3D
printed materials and inexpensive sensors.
The easy-to-wear device was based
on the head and neck movements of 10
healthy individuals.
" This is the first study of this kind where
a wearable robotic neck brace has been
designed to characterize the full head and
neck range of motion, " Agrawal says.
In the new study, the researchers
used the prototype brace, along with
electrical measurements of muscle
activity, to compare the neck mobility
of five cancer patients before and one
month after surgical removal of neck
lymph nodes. They found their device
could precisely detect changes in
patient neck movements during routine
clinical visits.
" Use of the sensing neck brace allows
a surgeon to screen patients postoperatively
for movement difficulty, quantify
their degree of impairment, and select
patients for physical therapy and rehabilitation, "
Troob says.
" Patients consistently identify need for
rehabilitation and guided exercises after
surgery as an unmet need in their medical
care, " Troob says. " This work will lay
Schematic of the new robotic neck brace and a picture of a subject using the brace. (Left) A CAD
drawing of the neck brace. (Right) A participant wearing the brace during experiments while sitting
comfortably on a chair. Surface electrodes are mounted in the head and neck area to record muscle
activity. (Credit: Sunil K. Agrawal, ROAR Lab)
the foundation for the appropriate identification
of patients for intervention. We
additionally hope that through using the
neck brace, we will be able to objectively
quantify their improvement and develop
evidence-based rehabilitative programs. "
The researchers hope to investigate
larger groups of patients and use the neck
ROBOTIC END-EFFECTORS
brace to follow patients through physical
therapy to develop evidence-based protocols
for rehabilitation, Troob says. They
also would like to develop similar braces
for other surgical sites, such as the forearm,
ankle, or knee, he adds.
For more information, visit https://
www.engineering.columbia.edu.
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2021

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