Elizabeth Hargrove

In the United States, more than 1.8 million people use lower extremity orthoses due to conditions such as Cerebral Palsy and Spina Bifida. Knee-ankle-foot orthoses are commonly prescribed to individuals with knee instability or quadricep weakness, but existing options either lack functionality or lack reliability, resulting in a high frequency of falls. Particularly in areas without sufficient access to good healthcare, children with mobility impairments have limited treatment options. Elizabeth’s work this past year focused on developing a fully functional printed circuit board responsible for data processing, battery management, communication to the user via LEDs, and engagement of a solenoid controlled any-angle locking mechanism.

The stance-controlled knee orthosis under development is intended to automatically lock when the user is bearing weight on that leg and automatically unlock when the leg is non-weight bearing. This will permit free swing of the lower leg during the swing phase of gait, resulting in a healthier, safer, and more natural gait pattern. To enable timely locking and unlocking of the orthosis’s joint mechanism, sensors must detect where the user is in the gait cycle. The Peripheral Sensor Board houses these two sensors and a boost converter. This board is responsible solely for data collection, not data processing. Because this board does not contain a microcontroller it relies on a secondary board for communication and device management. The presentation will explain the hurdles which were overcome to develop this secondary board and to complete the fully functional electrical system for the novel stance control orthosis under development.

Biography:

Elizabeth Hargrove recently graduated summa cum laude from Messiah University with a degree in electrical engineering. During college she was actively involved in Messiah’s Collaboratory, Society of Women Engineers (SWE), women’s club ultimate frisbee, and Bible studies. This past summer she served in West Africa for two months with Trans World Radio in broadcast operations. In a few weeks she will begin working for ARM EnerTech as an Associate Electrical Engineer. In her free time, she enjoys playing sports, biking, gardening, solving puzzles, and playing games with friends and family.