BI1RM2: Robotics in Medicine and Prosthetics

Module code: BI1RM2

Module provider: School of Biological Sciences

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor William Harwin, email: w.s.harwin@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Yoshikatsu Hayashi, email: y.hayashi@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

To introduce students problems in providing functional prosthetic, robotics, exoskeleton and medical equipment (e.g. surgical robotics) for medical and rehabilitation applications. 

To give students hands on experience, and fundamental underpinnings in, prosthetics, orthotics and robotics and complex medical equipment .  To give students an appreciation of the engineering across these domains.  

To ensure students can understand basic principles of forces, torques and joints as applied to humans, animals and mechanisms.  

To expose students to how mathematical methods can be used to define the equation of motion of robots, humans and animals.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Students should be able to articulate mechanical and engineering design principles needed to create new devices, robots and orthotics
2. Describe in detail specific examples of robotics and advanced in areas such as prosthetics, orthotics, robotics, medical equipment, assistive devices, surgical robotics and  more general industrial application areas
3. Understand and demonstrate both theoretical and physical solutions in a specific problem area
4. Appreciate the wealth of literature and use this literature to justify their approach
5. Understand more about engineering design and the interplay between group solutions and individual contributions
6. Learn a range of tools and techniques that can be applied across a range of problems

Module content

Topics covered will include engineering design methods, Engineering materials and their performance, computer aided design, rapid prototyping techniques, free-form-fabrication methods, passive joints, active joints (i.e. motors and actuators), structures, sensing and control.  

Students will be encouraged to research a range of topics such as legged machines, intelligent upper limb and lower limb prosthetics, assessment of technologies (e.g. Cybathlon), surgical robotics, haptics in rehabilitation, transcutaneous implants, implanted mechanisms and sensors etc. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

 Lectures and open laboratories. 

Study hours

At least 65 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Students taking the BEng Biomedical Engineering programme must also achieve a mark of at least 30% in each assessment.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs