Professor receives P6.3M grant for biomedical engineering research
Taken from: 2401 The Official Newsletter of De La Salle University Vol. 47 Number 12
A full professor of the Manufacturing Engineering and Management (MEM) Department of DLSU was granted a PHP 6.3 Million research project by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council of Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) for an 18-month period.
Dr. Nilo Bugtai, a multi-awarded faculty, will lead a team of researchers to set the bar in the country about a research entitled “A Robotic Exoskeleton for Upper Extremity Rehabilitation.”
The research project is a robotic exoskeleton arm for upper extremity therapy to address the need for an accessible and reliable rehabilitation system. Stroke remains as one of the leading causes of death and disability in the Philippines while injuries caused by work or sports accidents are included in the country’s top priorities for health research.
There are currently no commercially available robotic exoskeletons manufactured in the country. Prof. Bugtai’s Team AGAPAY (which means “support or reinforce”) will design a 7 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) robotic exoskeleton system that accounts for shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand movements. An affective design requires the device to be comfortable, user-friendly, safe to use and affordable.
Phase 1 of the AGAPAY project commenced last March 1 and is targeted for completion by August 31, 2017. For the initial phase, the focus will be on the design and fabrication for the three prototypes, the testing for their functionality, reliability and robustness.
