Rahman Davoodi, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor Medical Device Development Facility Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Southern California 1042 Downey Way, DRB-B4, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA Phone: (213) 821-1114 E-Mail: davoodi@usc.edu

Home Research Teaching Publications Software MDDF BME USC August 2008

Home I am interested in control of neural prosthetic systems for restoration of movement to paralyzed and amputee patients. These controllers must precisely coordinate the activities of the muscles in a paralyzed limb or electric, pneumatic, or hydraulic actuators in a prosthetic limb. In addition, the actions of these controllers must be synchronized with the patients' voluntary actions such as the movements in the intact parts of the limb and the voluntary command signals. In Medical Device Development Facility, we are using computer modeling and simulation techniques to develop sophisticated Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) and prosthetic control systems. Virtual reality simulations with the patient in the loop are then used to evaluate the feasibility of these control systems and to train the patients to operate their prospective neural prosthetic system before it is actually built or delivered to them.