Many everyday tasks require the use of two limbs.
But when people experience a debilitating medical condition such as a stroke or loss of a limb, these same everyday tasks may become a struggle.
Qiushi Fu, a professor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science, aims to alleviate such struggles with his new research on bimanual coordination that began in March as part of a National Institutes of Health grant.
Fu is observing how people interact with tasks that require coordinating two limbs, each controlling a robotic device, to complete a task within a virtual environment. The catch is that his task simulations will randomly impede his trial participants and lead them to decide how to compensate for the constraint placed upon one or more limbs.
However, there will be much more practical activities, too, Fu says.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 important to go beyond experimental tasks and have participants perform actual real-life tasks, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲e also want to measure coordination in everyday tasks like buttoning or cutting a piece of paper with motion tracking technologies. 麻豆精品 S�
Fu proposes that the knowledge gained in this project can provide significant insight to improve the effectiveness of motor rehabilitation interventions for restoring upper-limb function in individuals affected by neurological disorders.
麻豆精品 S淭he objective of this is research is we want to understand how our brain controls our two hands to work on a task with a common goal, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淥ne example is you 麻豆精品 S檙e pouring water from a bottle to a cup. So, imagine the hand holding the cup is being pushed by something. To successfully perform the task is to move the hand back or move the pouring hand, or both. 麻豆精品 S�
The research will use healthy young participants to perform those activities while their brain activity is monitored to acquire a foundational understanding of bimanual coordination, Fu says.
麻豆精品 S淚f one hand makes a mistake or is impaired then the other can help compensate, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淭his is a decision the brain has to process, and we 麻豆精品 S檙e studying how the brain achieves this. 麻豆精品 S�
Data will be gathered noninvasively, as participants will wear a fitted cap that will measure neural activity via electrodes. There also will be measurements of limb movements, muscle activities and eye movements to pair with the neural data.
Fu says he was motivated to investigate further when he noticed prior research on bimanual coordination primarily focused on tasks that require each limb to attain an independent goal rather than a common goal.
麻豆精品 S淣one of these studies focused on how they complement each other, 麻豆精品 S� Fu says. 麻豆精品 S淚 found that this particular topic wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 well understood, and in the past the research has focused on independent goal tasks, and our project focuses on common goal tasks. 麻豆精品 S�
Although Fu is the principal investigator, he is collaborating with other UCF faculty within the Disability, Aging and Technology faculty cluster initiative to use their expertise in measuring brain activity for the research. He is also working with scientists at Arizona State University to apply neural stimulation to examine the functional role of a few different brain areas.
麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e hoping our research will provide biomarkers and baseline data to further investigate into patient populations to perform rehabilitation interventions and even regain motor control, 麻豆精品 S� Fu says.
Researcher 麻豆精品 S檚 Credentials
Fu came to UCF in 2018 as an assistant professor in mechanical engineering. He received his master 麻豆精品 S檚 in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2008 before graduating with his Doctor of Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University in 2013. Fu 麻豆精品 S檚 research focuses on rehabilitation, prosthetics, sensorimotor control, and bioinspired robots. He also is part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Biionix Cluster of interdisciplinary researchers, which brings together medical scientists and engineers to study and enhance high-tech medical technologies.
