Robots and games aid disabled children

Biomedical engineers at

(NJIT) will use new technology to help children with cerebral palsy improve their movements, reduce stiffness in their joints and live fuller and more independent lives.

Small robots mounted on wheelchairs, interactive video games and a robotic arm that can be programmed to guide and aid human motion are a few of the technologies the engineers will use to help these children improve their muscular control and movements.

"Those of us without disabilities can't really understand how much extra effort goes into doing the things of everyday life," said Richard Foulds, PhD, an associate professor in the biomedical engineering department at NJIT. "In a nation of technological riches, there is no better way for engineers to use their creative talents than to find new methods and devices that help children with cerebral palsy overcome their daily barriers."

Foulds is director of the newly formed Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) at NJIT, funded by a $4.75 million grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, in Washington, D.C. The grant, awarded on November 1, 2005, will run for five years.