Adaptive Splint Designed for Individuals with Autism
ECE Associate Professor Kris Dorsey is the principal researcher on a project working to develop an adaptive splint for autistic individuals to prevent them from self-injurious behaviors.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cesareo Contreras. Main photo: Northeastern professor Kris Dorsey demonstrates the adaptive splint in developmental that will be designed for individuals with severe autism. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University.
This adaptive splint could transform autism care
In the summer of 2024, Northeastern University professor Matthew Goodwin invited a small group of colleagues on a trip to the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta with a simple goal.
For quite a while now, Goodwin has been frustrated by a lack of tailor-made garments designed to keep individuals with severe autism, also known as profound autism, from hitting themselves or others when they exhibit self-injurious behavior.
The options available resemble riot gear — hockey pads, football helmets and mixed martial arts equipment, he said.
“They’re very scary looking and stigmatizing,” said Goodwin, who is jointly appointed in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences and conducts research regularly in collaboration with the Marcus Autism Center.
So, Goodwin assembled a team of Northeastern researchers to help him solve the problem, meeting directly with the Marcus Autism Center’s staff to understand the issue and develop a plan forward.
Now, that group, backed by the National Science Foundation, is developing an adaptive splint designed for autistic patients to address that issue head-on.
Taking advantage of a range of sensors, actuators and soft robotics technology, the splint’s key feature will be its ability to relax and stiffen on command, said Kris Dorsey, a Northeastern professor in the College of Engineering and Bouvé College of Health Sciences and the principal researcher on the project.
The splint will be placed on an autistic patient’s arm and used during certain medical exercises, particularly during times when patients may exhibit self-injurious behavior, she explained.
Dorsey visited the center with Goodwin, alongside Megan Hofmann, a professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences and the College of Engineering, and Aston McCullough’s, a professor in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.
All four are now collaborating on the project, each bringing their own area of expertise to the undertaking. Dorsey is leading and specializing on the soft robotics side; Hofmann, the specialized materials; McCullough’s, the kinematics and video data; and Goodwin, the physiology and motion-sensing technology.
Read full story at Northeastern Global News