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Physical Therapy Engineering at Clevland State University 

Purpose: I worked with professors of physical therapy to design new and more effective ways to rehabilitate balance in patients with balance related disabilities. The goal was to integrate a fun activity to the patients' regimen and track how intensity they worked their balance during the exercise.

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Process:

The activity we chose for the basis of this research was gardening. In order to make it safe for patients to participate in the activity, a harness would be implemented in a nearby greenhouse garden. 

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The harness comprised of a vest with elastic bands that would attach to an overhead spreader bar. This bar was then connected to a track that was mounted to the roof of the greenhouse.

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Results:

The subjects had multiple motion sensors attached to them as they were exercising in the garden. I developed a code that would take this data and identify the main movements we were looking for, and count how many times a subject did that movement.   

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To track how vigorously a subject was testing their balance, we needed to be able to compare the locations of their center of mass to their base of support. I developed a code that would, in real time, map the subjects center of mass over their base of support. This code would also calculate the distance from the centroid of the base of support to the center of mass as a percentage of the radius of the base of support. With these percentages, we were able to qualify, the effectiveness of these gardening exercises over a period fo time. 

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