In collaboration with Drs. Jacek Cholewicki and Peter Reeves at the College of Osteopathic Medicine, MSU, we have been developing a spine robot that replicates a spine system with neuromuscular control during unstable seated balancing. Using this robot, we would like to highlight a few key concepts of dynamic stability, such as, how is stability achieved, what information does the controller (CNS) need to stabilize the spine, what happens to the spine system when its dynamics change (i.e. following injury) and the logic for this control is no longer valid, does poor control result in increase spine displacement and loading, etc. We will use this robot for further investigations and presentations to educate people about dynamic spine stability.

• Balancer Robot Movies (click the balancer icon)

• Balancer Schematics and Pictures