2017 News Archive
Regeneratively Speaking 33: Noncellular Regenerative Techniques for Pelvic Floor Disorders20 Dec 2017
WFIRM talks to Margot Damaser, PhD about noncellular regenerative techniques for pelvic floor disorders.
Elves in Santa's Workshop
15 Dec 2017
APT Investigators and staff, Research Service, and LSCVAMC employees volunteered at a workshop held by Replay for Kids. At the workshop, volunteers were shown how to adapt mainstream, battery-powered toys with external switches so that children with disabilities can use them. This event was featured on the front page of the Plain Dealer.
As teen driving deaths increase, can technology be part of the answer?
22 Nov 2017
After decades in decline, the number of teens killed on America's roads has actually started to creep back up again. "We have to figure out a way to minimize that," Weil said. "We have to scale that back by way of using technology." That is exactly what Dr. Bill Yu does every day at Case Western Reserve University. Inside his 360-degree car simulator, Dr. Yu studies how distractions impact drivers and what can be done to minimize them. Read more...
Researchers receive DOD grant for implantable muscle stimulator
15 Nov 2017
A team of researchers led by Kath Bogie, DPhil (PhD), a biomedical engineer and associate professor of orthopaedics and biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and colleagues from Case Western Reserve and other institutions, has received a $1.8M, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop... Read more...
Study: Leg implants for paralysis work long-term
09 Nov 2017
Neuroprostheses, implanted devices that stimulate the nerves to cause paralyzed muscles to contract, can allow people with spinal cord injuries to stand and step. But they are a fairly recent invention, and experts don’t know how well they function in the long term. Read more...
Soft, origami-inspired robot created by Case Western Reserve researcher could be revolutionary (video)
27 Sep 2017
A soft, origami-inspired robot created by a Case Western Reserve University researcher may one day be used on an assembly line, in surgery or even outer space. The patent-pending robot has the potential to manipulate all kinds of fragile objects without adding pressure and can interact with humans without safety concerns. Read more...
Case Western Reserve University researchers design soft, flexible origami-inspired robot
27 Sep 2017
A Case Western Reserve University researcher has turned the origami she enjoyed as a child into a patent-pending soft robot that may one day be used on an assembly line, in surgery or even outer space. Kiju Lee, the Nord Distinguished Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and her lab have moved from paper robots to 3-D-printed models that... Read more...
Case Western Reserve researcher wins $5.5 million federal grant to develop bioinspired materials and systems
21 Sep 2017
With a new $5.5 million, five-year federal grant, a Case Western Reserve University researcher is leading an international team to develop functional materials inspired by some of the most desirable substances found in nature. The bioinspired materials produced in the project will be tested in soft-sided robots, but are expected to have a wide range of practical uses. Read more...
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improves Function in Chronic Incomplete Tetraplegia
07 Sep 2017
Patients with long-standing incomplete tetraplegia realized gains in motor function below the level of injury after a two-week program pairing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with massed practice training in a new pilot study. The gains were still evident three months following the intervention, and motor map characteristics also showed increased excitability of residual pathways. Read more...
Engineering school announces interim associate dean of research
01 Sep 2017
The Case School of Engineering has named Christian Zorman as the interim associate dean of research. A renowned expert in the field of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), Zorman has spent his research career focused on developing novel, enabling materials and their requisite processing techniques, particularly for applications in... Read more...
VA employees showcase innovative projects, best practices aimed at helping Vets
17 Aug 2017
VA ingenuity, foresight, and brainpower took center stage on a sunny day in the nation's capital earlier this month. VA innovators from across the country showcased a stream of innovations and quality-improvement initiatives designed to enhance the Veteran experience. Read more...
APT Center Researcher Awarded VA CDA-2 Funding
07 Aug 2017
Congratulations to Matthew Schiefer, PhD who has received a Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research & Development (VA RR&D) Career Development Award - Level 2 (CDA2). Starting in the fall, this 4-year, $662,265 project will... Read more...
APT Center Post-Doc Awarded CHNF Funding
01 Aug 2017
Congratulations to Brooke Odle, PhD, who has received funding from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. This 2-year, $139,724 project that started July 31 will be used to... Read more...
Dr. Ronald Triolo Invited to VA Roundtable in D.C.
17 Jul 2017
Dr. Ronald Triolo, Executive Director of the APT Center, represented the Center during an invitation-only VA Healthcare Robotics Roundtable with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. David Shulkin on June 27, 2017. Dr. Triolo was among a select group of subject matter experts... Read more...
APT Center Researchers Awarded AHA Funding
14 Jul 2017
Congratulations to Michael Suster, PhD, along with fellow APT Center Investigators Pedram Mohseni, PhD, and Evi Stavrou, MD, as well as Anirban Sen Gupta, PhD, who have received funding from the American Heart Association to develop a dielectric microsensor... Read more...
APT Center Researcher Awarded VA RR&D SPiRE Funding
30 Jun 2017
Congratulations to Joseph Potkay, PhD who has received a Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research & Development (VA RR&D) Small Projects in Rehabilitation Research (SPiRE) award. Starting July 1st, this 2-year, $199,959 project will... Read more...
Electrical Stimulation May Help MS Patients Who Can’t Walk
10 Jun 2017
A treatment option that seemed to give false hope 30 years ago is now showing potential for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who can no longer walk. When the movie “First Steps”came out in 1985 medical experts scoffed at its message — that electrical stimulation was a viable option for helping people to walk again after traumatic spinal cord injuries. Read more...
Neural Interfacing Will Create a 'Cosmic Oneness' With Your Phone
09 Jun 2017
Visions of the so-called Singularity—the merging of man and machine—are solidifying day by day. In April, Facebook announced that it's got 60 engineers tinkering away at a wearable device will read your thoughts and turn them into status updates. And Elon Musk's Neuralink, unveiled in March, is looking at developing a tissue implant... Read more...
Strongsville High School student wins prize for research conducted in CWRU lab
09 Jun 2017
Suraj Srinivasan, a junior at Strongsville High School, earned a First Award in Biomedical Engineering at the International Science and Engineering Fair for research he completed under the mentorship of Andrew Shoffstall in Jeff Capadona’s laboratory. Read more...
On the Hill: VA researchers visit D.C. to show latest rehab technology
30 May 2017
VA ingenuity was on display in the nation's capital on May 16, as researchers showed off new technologies that can potentially improve the lives of Veterans and others with limb loss or neurological disorders such as paralysis. Speaking in a hearing room in the Cannon House Office Building, VA researchers elaborated on... Read more...
The Power of Touch: Taking Advanced Limb Prosthetics to a New Level (Videos)
16 May 2017
Paul Marasco, PhD, is a researcher who seems to have the touch these days. Not only was he a recipient of the 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers — the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on early-career professionals in these disciplines — but he’s in the vanguard of research efforts in advanced upper limb prosthetics, as detailed in this earlier post. Read more...
Stroke, MS patients walk significantly better with neural stimulation
10 May 2017
Robert Bush has multiple sclerosis (MS), which sapped his ability to walk five years ago. Joseph McGlynn suffered a stroke that seriously impaired his left side, also five years ago. Using technology designed by Case Western Reserve University and the Advanced Platform Technology and Functional Electrical Stimulation centers at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the two men got their feet back under them. Read more...
APT Center Researcher Awarded VISN 10 Spark Funding
03 May 2017
Congratulations to Steve Majerus, PhD who has received a Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 Spark award. Starting this month, this $19,521 pilot award, titled Wireless graft patency monitoring... Read more...
Four CWRU Medtech research projects selected for Ohio’s focused commercialization training
10 Apr 2017
Four medical-technology research teams at Case Western Reserve University will participate in focused entrepreneurial training through I-Corps@Ohio, an Ohio Department of Higher Education initiative created to advance their work from the lab to a commercial market. Each project has potential for a product of value to medical treatments or surgeries. Universities, colleges and community colleges in Ohio are eligible to participate in I-Corps@Ohio, which provides $15,000 to each selected research team in the seven-week training program. Read more...
Meet the Guys Who Sold “Neuralink” to Elon Musk without Even Realizing It
04 Apr 2017
Last week, we learned that Elon Musk will start a mind-computer interface company called Neuralink. The name added a brainy new entry to Musk’s growing scroll of big ideas—Tesla, SolarCity, SpaceX, the Hyperloop. But as the news of Musk’s nascent venture to merge man and machine spread across social media, an electrical engineer in Ohio named Pedram Mohseni must have been slapping his forehead. Read more...
APT Center Researcher Awarded Funding and Featured in Crain's Cleveland Business
27 Mar 2017
Congratulations to Vinod Labhasetwar PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland Clinic, who was featured in Crain’s Cleveland Business recently for his efforts in expanding medical advancements for spinal cord injuries. He received a 3-year U.S. Department of Defense grant totaling $1.7M to develop his patented... Read more...
Winners of ACES+ 2017 Opportunity Awards announced
23 Mar 2017
ACES+, the continuation of the Academic Careers in Engineering & Science (ACES) program, announced the recipients of the 2017 ADVANCE Opportunity Grant Awards. Nine proposals representing academic disciplines–ranging from nursing to engineering to psychological sciences–have been awarded a total of... Read more...
APT Center Researchers Inducted Into the AIMBE College of Fellows
21 Mar 2017
Congratulations to Drs. Jeffrey Capadona and Dustin Tyler on your induction into the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) at the Induction Ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. on March 19, 2017. Election to the College of Fellows includes individuals in the top 2%... Read more...
Artificial lungs in a backpack may free people with lung failure21 Mar 2017
An artificial lung that’s small enough to be carried in a backpack has been shown to work in sheep. It’s one of several such devices being developed that could transform the lives of people with lung failure, who are currently dependent on large machines. The new device still requires an oxygen tank to be wheeled around, although tank-free prototypes are also being tested. Read more...
APT Center Researchers and Staff Recieve 5 VA Innovator's Network Funding Awards
16 Mar 2017
Congratulation to our APT Center Investigators and staff who received FIVE VA Innovator’s Network awards. Last year, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (LSCVAMC) was designated as one of eight new Innovation Sites in the national VA Center for Innovation (VACI). The VACI was established in 2010... Read more...
Cleveland Clinic part of team receiving DOD grant to further novel therapy for acute spinal cord injury
14 Mar 2017
Cleveland Clinic, the University of British Columbia and Nebraska-based biotech company ProTransit Nanotherapy LLC have received a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to advance a therapy for acute spinal cord injury. Read more...
APT Center Researchers Awarded Over $1M in Federal Funding
06 Mar 2017
Congratulations to Kath Bogie DPhil, Margot Damaser PhD, and Ming-Chun Huang PhD who all received federal funding awards. Read more...
CWRU researchers secure $2 million NIH grant to test portable sickle cell monitor
20 Feb 2017
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University will use a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop and test a small, portable blood-adhesion monitor for sickle cell disease patients. The engineers and doctors hope to make the device as useful as the at-home insulin monitors... Read more...
Local Researchers Represent 'Team Cleveland'
20 Jan 2017
A CYBORG is a fictional or hypothetical person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body. Sounds like science fiction, right? Well you may be surprised to know that Cleveland is a world leader... in cyborg technology. Watch the PBS story here.
Great Big Story: For Amputees, Reactivating the Sense of Touch
16 Jan 2017
When Keith Vonderhuevel lost his arm in a factory accident, he never thought that he'd be able to feel his hand again. That may very well change. Keith is currently a research subject at the Cleveland VA Sensory Restoration Lab, where a team of engineers is pioneering prostheses that allow amputees to feel touch, pressure and intensity. Watch it here.
