Aug. 15, 2006 · The NÜberwalker project, which has been developed by successive teams of students since 2003, has been awarded the international da Vinci Award by the Michigan Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The NÜberwalker is a Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training (BWSTT) system designed to help people regain the ability to walk. Traditionally, body weight support treadmill training is used by stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, although it has also been used by people with traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, lower extremity amputations, knee and hip replacements, Parkinson’s disease and bariatric conditions. The number of survivors from these cases totals over seven million with close to 800,000 new cases each year.

Therapy involving BWSTT has proven extremely effective for recovering the ability to walk. Although patients can receive this kind of rehabilitation treatment in a clinic, there are currently no products on the market that focus on in-home rehabilitation. A BWSTT system designed for the personal home is desirable for a number of reasons. More frequent training between physical therapy sessions could improve recovery time. Also, ongoing in-home training following the completion of physical therapy helps the individual to continue improving.

Through a partnership with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), student teams have developed the NÜberwalker BWSTT for use in the home. The NÜberwalker frame is placed over the user’s treadmill and supports his or her body weight through a system of bungee cords tensioned by a motor. This system allows the user to initially practice the walking motion with up to fifty percent of his or her body weight supported by the bungee cords. As the user regains balance and strength, the bungee cords can be adjusted to support increasingly less body weight until the user can walk without the aid of the NÜberwalker.

The NÜberwalker offers a unique combination of features and benefits:

• low cost
• folding design for easy setup or storage (no tools needed)
• dynamic weight support through entire gait cycle
• safety catch to prevent falls
• intuitive control panel (3 buttons plus an indictor for level of support)

A beta prototype has been built and the NÜberwalker is now ready for beta testing. A provisional patent application has been filed and the student team is now working with Northwestern University’s Technology Transfer Program to license the design.

Support for the NÜberwalker project has been provided by a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), and by an Advanced E-Team Grant from the National Collegiate Inventers and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA).

Students who have worked on the NÜberwalker project

• Fall 2003
  • Kyle Reed
  • David Weir
  • Michael Duffy
  • Joaquin Martinez
• Winter 2004
  • James Sulzer
  • Ryan Williams
  • Peggah Kamalinafar
  • Eric Huang
  • Vanessa Puzon
• Spring 2004
  • Carl Allen
  • Linda Zhang
• Summer 2004
  • Erick Haro
  • Piotr Lizak
• Fall 2004
  • Amy Conaway
  • Erik Langeteig
  • Ben Villagra
• Winter 2005
  • Ross Bergman
  • Jason Lintker
  • Chris McCloskey
  • Naomi Pilosof
• Spring 2005
  • Paul Braun
  • Sinem Erisken
  • Susan James
  • Chris McCloskey
• Summer 2005
  • Steven Richter
  • David Wei
• Summer 2006
  • Yee Chin Heng
  • Jeff Mills
• NCIIA Advanced E-Team
  • Carla Falcon
  • Piotr Lizak
  • Ed Paramadilok
  • Thomas Perez
  • David Wei