Virginia company awarded $1.4 million contract to develop affordable robotic prosthetics

From BusinessWire:

MCLEAN, Va. -- Since 2003, 1,145 soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have had a limb amputated. In response, Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned technology solutions company, is leading a modeling and simulation research effort that could help enhance the field of prosthetic limbs.

Alion was awarded an 18-month, $1.4 million contract from the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity to explore affordable and improved approaches in bringing robotic control technology to the field of prosthetic limbs.

“Our modeling and simulation expertise will greatly help facilitate advancements in the field of artificial limbs.”

Alion will develop a protocol and modeling tool for robotic, upper limb prosthetics that will lead to the development of an affordable prosthetic device that is lightweight, more functional to the amputee, more power-efficient and has an extended battery life. The program is designed to augment and accelerate the development of implantable electronic sensors and the development and application of virtual prototyping simulation models, which will ultimately help the amputee better control the prosthetic.

“This critically important program is expected to result in a model for developing a unique, rather than a one-size fits all, robotic prosthetic device for an amputee, lower costs for embedding sensors within a limb, and an advanced integrated control system that allows for lighter, more comfortable and more cost-effective prostheses,” said Rear Admiral Richard Brooks, USN (Ret.), Alion’s Distributed Simulation Group Manager. “Our modeling and simulation expertise will greatly help facilitate advancements in the field of artificial limbs.”

Alion is partnering with Sigenics Inc. of Chicago, IL on the contract. Sigenics is a small business that designs integrated circuits and supplies tested die or packaged parts for sensor, analog and mixed-signal applications.