STEM-In-Action Grant Update, The Three Musketeeretts

We love to keep up with the teams, and The Three Musketeeretts are doing BIG things! Read their story below to see how they're utilizing the STEM-In-Action Grant.

 

The Three Musketeeretts began their STEM journey together in fourth grade. Currently, all three girls are 10th graders attending Westview High School in Portland, Oregon. The team has been sponsored and supported by STEM4Girls, a nonprofit organization aiming to encourage young girls to pursue STEM careers through exciting workshops.

Over the summer of 2016, they discovered eCYBERMISSION. They were excited to participate and began brainstorming ideas within days of signing up.

After extensive research, the girls were shocked to discover that over 2.1 million people currently live with limb loss and 22,000 live in their state of Oregon. Over 185,000 amputations occur per year, and this is expected to double by 2050. Around 80 percent of these amputees will experience Phantom Limb Sensation (PLS); the sensation or pain an amputee feels when part of or the entirety of the limb has been amputated. As of today, the only treatments available to amputees are Mirror Therapy and Guided Imagery. After speaking with different amputees, they learned that these existing procedures have been unreliable and in-adaptable for all amputees. 

 

The team wanted to develop a more effective treatment for PLS, so they began prototyping a solution, which they named GLIMPSE: Gesture Control Logic in Minimizing Phantom Sensations Effectively. GLIMPSE is a virtual reality application that can recognize multiple gestures from a transradial (lower arm and hand removal) amputee and translate them into movements of the virtual limb. The girls built their solution using the Myo Gesture Control Armband, Unity Studio, and the Google Cardboard, for a total cost of only $215.00. This cost-effective, portable, and engaging virtual reality solution can change the way those with PLS are treated.

The girls will use the eCYBERMISSION STEM-In-Action Grant to develop their prototype further, so that it can be made available to amputees in their community. In order to do so, they have a number of ideas: (1) they will test how the eight EMG (Electromyography) Pods on the Myo Gesture Control Armband will function separately. The goal of this is to reconfigure the armband, so that GLIMPSE can be compatible for various amputations. (2) To create a more engaging and comfortable virtual reality environment, they plan on implementing the Ricoh Theta 360 degree camera. The idea behind this is that treatment in comfortable or familiar settings speeds up the treatment process. (3)  They will evaluate four different types of virtual reality headsets to find the most applicable one for their purpose. (4) Lastly, create custom gestures for individuals.

                                                                                                                                          The Three Musketeeretts are excited to see GLIMPSE change the lives of amputees in their community who face PLS, and they wouldn’t have the opportunity to do so without the support of eCYBERMISSION.