Event Details

AME Seminar

Wed, Sep 17, 2025
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Location: SSL 202
Speaker: David J. Reinkensmeyer,, University of California at Irvine

Talk Title: Robots and Sensors for Movement Rehabilitation: What Have We Learned and What Comes Next?

Abstract: A fundamental goal of movement rehabilitation following neurologic injuries such as stroke is to enhance sensorimotor plasticity through targeted movement practice. Over the past 40 years, researchers have developed robotic and sensor-based technologies to facilitate and quantify this practice. In this talk, I will describe key insights into post-stroke motor control that have emerged from these technologies. I will also discuss recent findings that reveal which individuals benefit most from robot-assisted training and why, highlighting the role of somatosensory feedback in what appears to be a reinforcement learning-driven process. Finally, I will provide examples of mechatronic rehabilitation technologies that have successfully transitioned into clinical and home settings, inviting discussion on the design factors that drive their adoption and impact.

Biography: David Reinkensmeyer is Professor in the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of California at Irvine. He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, studying robotics and the neuroscience of human movement. He carried out postdoctoral studies at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago developing robotic devices for rehabilitation therapy after stroke before becoming a assistant professor at U.C. Irvine in 1998. He is co-inventor of the T-WREX upper extremity training device, which was commercialized as ArmeoSpring, and the MusicGlove finger training device. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation for 10 years and is co-director of the NIDILRR COMET Robotic Rehabilitation Engineering Center, co-editor of the of the book Neurorehabilitation Technology, and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

Host: AME Department

More Info: <a href="https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/" target="_blank" class="vsoe-inline">https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/</a>

Webcast: Contact Tess at tessayao@usc.edu for link