From the outside, the UCLA Outpatient Rehabilitation Services looks like most other physical therapy and rehabilitation centers, complete with a check-in desk and a waiting room filled with patients. But just one floor above is a set of laboratories at the forefront of innovative technologies, where engineers and surgeons work together to develop bionic systems designed to improve quality of life for patients.
One such lab is the UCLA Anatomical Engineering Group led by principal investigator Tyler Clites, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. Clites’ research focuses on improving human mobility through rehabilitation, which aims to restore function lost to disease or injury, and augmentation, which involves improving function beyond baseline human performance.
“Solving these types of problems is a highly…
