Error Fields: Personalized robotic movement training that augments one's more likely mistakes.

Control of movement is learned and uses error feedback during practice to predict actions for the next movement. We have shown that augmenting error can enhance learning, but while such findings are encouraging the methods need to be refined to accommodate a person's individual reactions to error. The current study evaluates method, where the interactive robot tempers its augmentation when the error is less likely.

How does patellar tendon advancement alter the knee extensor mechanism in children treated for crouch gait?

Background: The patellar tendon advancement (PTA) procedure, often coupled with a distal femoral extension osteotomy (DFEO), is increasingly used to treat persistent crouch gait. In this study, we investigated relationships between patella position, knee flexion, and the patellar tendon moment arm in children treated with the DFEO and PTA procedures.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pre- and post-operative radiographs and gait metrics from 63 knees that underwent DFEO and PTA procedures at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare.

Customized therapy using distributions of reaching errors.

While there has been recent success with robotic therapy approaches, individual differences in motor impairments motivate the need for customized therapy. Our latest work with healthy participants considered the likelihood of one's error to construct a customized force field training environment, which we termed an error field. We believe error statistics could characterize individual motor impairments for stroke survivors.

Transfer of dynamic motor skills acquired during isometric training to free motion.

Recent studies have explored the prospects of learning to move without moving, by displaying virtual arm movement related to exerted force. However, it has yet to be tested whether learning the dynamics of moving can transfer to the corresponding movement. Here we present a series of experiments that investigate this isometric training paradigm.

Forces That Supplement Visuomotor Learning: A "Sensory Crossover" Experiment.

Previous studies on reaching movements have shown that people can adapt to either visuomotor (e.g., prism glasses) or mechanical distortions (e.