Building Advanced Cerebral Palsy Assistive Care Solutions (BACPACS) - Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of pediatric disability in the United States, affecting 2-3 of every 1000 children. The goal of our five-year RERC is to enhance clinical care for children with CP by maximizing their mobility and quality of life through a comprehensive approach evaluating the effectiveness of assistive and therapeutic technologies that target muscles, nerves, and biomechanics. Our RERC has three primary objectives: 1) develop assistive devices that are specifically designed for children, 2) evaluate the effectiveness of novel interventions that to promote long-term benefits for children with CP, and 3) develop clinical monitoring and prediction systems tailored to children with CP that can inform personalized therapy. The outcomes of this RERC will include: 1) parents and caregivers having more potential therapeutic options when seeking treatment for their children, 2) clinicians gaining access to monitoring and predictive clinical tools that can guide their development of treatment plans on a more individualized basis, and 3) children with CP having access to new powered assistive devices that can be modified to grow with them. The products of our RERC for children with CP will be 1) novel therapeutic paradigms for improving mobility and quality of life, including at-home therapy devices, nervous system stimulation, and pharmacological treatment–R1, R2; 2) a machine-learning model to predict a child’s responsiveness to therapeutic interventions–R3; 3) an automated monitoring system to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment on gait–D1; and 4) a powered, low-cost exoskeleton that can be easily modified as a child grows to continually assist their independent mobility–D2.
