The Shoulder Exoskeleton for Rehabilitation and Assistance (SERA) was developed as part of Purdue's senior design course (ME463) in collaboration with the RAAD Lab. Led by Laura Blumenschein, the lab creates soft robots that adaptively interact with people and the world. SERA is such a robot that was designed to help people with muscular dystrophy rehabilitate the shoulder girdle by assisting actuation. Each year in the United States, around 795,000 people suffer strokes, and after six months, 65% of those will not regain full mobility and experience the exact muscle failure SERA is targeting. A soft, pneumatically actuated exosuit is an elegant solution to improve daily life by providing the same strength and function as rigid devices but allowing for extensive, comfortable use that doesn't limit the body's natural range of motion.
Team Roster
Aidan Chappell, Project Manager, website
Anna Schuman, Manufacturing Manager
Bailey Keel, Purchasing Manager
David Herbert, Electrical Lead
Kyle Schwartzbaugh, Business Lead
Melissa Alongi Curto, Mechanical Lead, website