SUCCESS STORIES
Marina Davtyan - ArmBionics
Marina is a medical student and a young researcher. She has been working on the development of myoelectric bionic hand for a few years. She is the CEO and co-founder of ArmBionics. ArmBionics is a startup company that focuses on the development of bionic prosthetics. The goal of the project is to improve the quality of affordable limb prosthetics. ArmBionics aims to develop individual prosthetics for each person's needs.
Marina and her team have been awarded the ISTC Joint Research Grant which was the first significant opportunity for the team and helped them a lot for further research. They have created an original 3D model of a bionic hand that can easily be customized according to the patient's specifications. The 3D model has been coupled with EMG via a program. As a result, they have a 3D model of a bionic hand that can do simulated movements gaining muscle signals from a human. They have recorded and analyzed EMG signals data via machine learning classification tools having excellent accuracy. They have also initiated the platform for brain-computer (BCI) interface control of a bionic hand. They have also recorded EEG signals data via Emotiv Epoc+ device in the context of different imaginary movements with or without association with numbers.
The data has been analyzed, and the repository of BCI data analysis is available with the following link on GitHub. Also, myoelectric prosthetic has been tested with the patient to get feedback. And now they are working to improve the product. They are developing an android application which will be available with the final product, via this application you will be able to record EMG signals and do the real-time analysis to predict the movements, the technology aims to improve prosthetics functionality.
She has been awarded the US-Armenia Research Collaboration Grant, which was an excellent opportunity to visit research centers and labs in the field. She visited neuroscience and rehabilitation labs at Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (Chicago, USA). Marina has learned about cutting-edge research in the field.
The main topics of her interests were rehabilitation, myoelectric controlled upper limb prosthetics, EMG pattern recognition, reinnervation, etc. She has spent two weeks in Chicago, learned new skills, made connections, and collaborations. Those collaborations were not only crucial for her research but also their community. Marina thinks that they can exchange knowledge and get the best expertise from the US professors by organizing practical workshops and seminars in Armenia.
Decoding the Brain Workshop, which is going to be co-organized with ISTC, is one of the incredible opportunities to learn from the best scientists in the field. Worth mentioning that one of them will be professor Lee Miller from Northwestern University (Chicago, USA).
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