Annual Report 2014–15

機械腳托助中風病人步行 中大電子工程學系生物醫學工程師 湯啟宇教授（左三）與香港理工大學 工業中心高級工程師衛漢華博士 （左四）合作，研發出智能互動機械 腳托，幫助有足下垂問題的中風病 人。 足下垂是中風病人普遍出現的神經肌 肉疾病，患者因踝關節無力而無法提 起足部，走路時腳掌會在地面拖行或 內反，而出現高跨步或腿往外劃弧的 不自然步態，因而增加失平衡及踝關 節扭傷的風險。 傳統的步行復康療程一般會進行一系 列高強度和重複的步行訓練，上述 機械腳托方便輕巧，使用者把它套在 小腿，隨即變成體外骨骼。腳托有 內置運動傳感器及力度傳感器，感應 到使用者想提腳踏步時，會即時提供 推動力，協助並加強其踝關節運動， 使復康療程更安全有效。 揭開巨型恆星誕生之奧秘 物理系李華白教授及其研究小組研究 及觀察形成巨型星體之星雲，首次揭 示星雲中的磁場對星體的形成有不可 或缺的影響。 巨型恆星的形成過程一直是個謎。天 文學家推測，恆星形成過程中除了造 成塌縮的重力，必定還有其他力量 與之抗衡抵銷，限制分子雲轉化成恆 星。長久以來，天文學家對於磁場是 否為此抗衡之力爭辯已久。 Ankle Robot to Rehabilitate Stroke Patients Prof. Tong Kai-yu Raymond ( 3rd left ) at the Department of Electronic Engineering, CUHK and Dr. Wai Hon-wah ( 4th left ) at the Industrial Centre, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have jointly developed an Interactive Exoskeleton Ankle Robot for rehabilitation of stroke patients with foot drop problem. Drop foot is a neuromuscular disorder that affects a person’s ability to raise the foot at the ankle, resulting in the foot dragging on the ground during walking. This gait abnormality is common among stroke survivors. Foot drop symptoms often involve steppage gait and outward leg swinging which increase risks of falling and ankle spraining. Conventional rehabilitative walking exercises are of high intensity and repetitive. Light in weight and easy to use, the new interactive Exoskeleton Ankle Robot can be used by rehabilitees for these exercises. It can be fit on a patient’s shank to serve as an exoskeleton (external bone) to help the patient control his or her leg. With its motion and force sensors, the robot can sense a user’s gait pattern and predict the user’s next motion. The robot will then provide power assistance to support ankle joint movement during walking or going up and down stairs, making rehabilitative walking exercises safer. Unravelling the Mystery of Massive Star Formation Prof. Li Hua-bai at the Department of Physics, and his collaborators have revealed a surprising picture that magnetic fields is a crucial force in regulating the conversion of clouds to stars. The formation of massive stars is especially mysterious. Scientists believe that some force has to regulate the self-gravity and thus limit the conversion of clouds to stars. It has been long debated whether magnetic fields (B-fields) are strong enough to be a possible regulation force. 26 開拓人類知識的版圖 Pushing Knowledge Frontiers