Researchers from Harvard, MGB developing wearable robot to help stroke, ALS patients

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Advances in technology and artificial intelligence are touching our lives more each day.

For patients with serious illnesses or medical conditions, these new developments are nothing short of miraculous.

For example, researchers at the Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Science and Mass General Brigham have created a wearable robot.

Just brushing her hair or cutting her own food was getting harder and harder for Kelly McGinn.

The 40-year-old resident of Pembroke has ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease.

“I started to have symptoms over the summer of 2022, with some left-hand weakness. By the time I couldn’t put a glove on my hand in January, I realized something was wrong.”

She added, “It impacted everything, especially now that my left arm is completely immobile. I am not able to easily get dressed.”

After intensive physical and occupational therapy to try and slow the loss of motor skills, McGinn became part of the wearable robot project.

To begin with, the black vest is outfitted with sensors that measure her movements.

“It just feels like an article of clothing,” said McGinn.

As McGinn moves, the sensors measure how much pressure she is exerting.

Those measurements are analyzed by artificial intelligence to gauge the amount of help she’ll need, specifically to move her arm.

A member of the team said, “Once it’s trained on her movement, then it can remember it and then it tailors and personalizes her movement so it’s easier for her.”

That means McGinn gets the exact amount of help her body needs by changing the air pressure in small bags under her arms.

“This just gives me the support to hold this coffee cup up without it feeling extremely heavy.”

Conor Walsh, Ph.D., runs a lab at the Harvard School of Engineering that focuses on human-centered assistive devices.

“We want people to have a robot that they can wear that can give them a boost, but that when they’re wearing it, they don’t really know that they’re wearing a robot. So, you think of the Ironman suit, and you can get excited, but we’re trying to actually have it fade into the background rather than be front and center.”

Doctors from Mass General Brigham who are involved in the project think this vest will be a game-changer.

Dr. Sabrina Paganoni, MD, Ph.D., specializes in ALS.

“Having a device that can help people maintain function and independence is something that would be absolutely transformative for our patients because no PT or other intervention can help them do that at this stage.”

Dr. David Lin, Director of the Neuro Recovery Clinic, added, “Tools that we have in medicine to improve function after acute neurologic illnesses like stroke and ALS are really limited...I think in this new age of getting used to thinking about technology as medicine is a really unique opportunity...it’s a really big leap.”

It certainly is for Kelly McGinn.

“It’s nice to see that even though we don’t have a cure for the disease, there are still people working on something that will help us live our lives better.”

Professor Walsh thinks the vest will also be a big help for caretakers who will be a break from the demands of caring for a loved one.

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