EPSRC-RTN: Texo-Skeleton: transforming everyday clothing into self-adaptable exoskeleton for musculoskeletal rehabilitation

  • Preatoni, Ezio (CoI)
  • Lugoda, Pasindu (PI)
  • Dharmasena, R. D.Ishara G. (PI)
  • Lieu, Bernard Xian Wei (CoI)
  • Kerr, Andy (CoI)
  • Ding, Ziyun (CoI)

Project: Research council

Project Details

Description

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are the cause of >30 million working days lost every year (UK), and of up to 30% of GP consultations (England)[1]. We are aiming to respond to the unmet need of a more accessible, continuous, effective, and individualised MSK rehabilitation. This feasibility project will be the springboard to developing an unobtrusive MSK rehabilitation system. Our system will have smart textile yarns that integrates seamlessly into everyday clothing and utilising a sense-act framework helps the patient regain strength and mobility, reduce pain, and improve overall function. The Texo-Skeleton will use input from the clinician, the environment, and the patient, while also monitoring the rehab progress, to provide different levels of support, resistance, and assistance based on individual needs. Our yarn-based approach ensures the conformability and normalcy of wearing a textile is not compromised by the added functionality, which enables this system to assist patients during rehabilitation exercises/daily activities. Texo-Skeleton ecosystem will enable a step-change in MSK rehabilitation and tackle many of the current challenges faced by the NHS, where patients have sparse access to specialists, and are left to carry out much of their rehabilitation in an unsupervised way. The feasibility funds will allow us to explore the features of the framework, build on stakeholder/patient feedback, create, and test a prototype, and devise the research programme that will ultimately develop the Texo-Skeleton. As a proof of concept, we will co-design a thumb-hole arm sleeve for patients with lateral epicondylalgia (tennis elbow), which is a prevalent MSK condition.
Short title£49,913.86
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/07/2331/12/23

Collaborative partners

  • University of Bath
  • Nottingham Trent University (Joint applicant) (lead)
  • University of Essex (Joint applicant)
  • University of Strathclyde (Joint applicant)
  • University of Birmingham (Joint applicant)
  • Loughborough University (Joint applicant)

Fingerprint

Explore the research topics touched on by this project. These labels are generated based on the underlying awards/grants. Together they form a unique fingerprint.