Neuromuscular Control & Robotics Lab
Engineering closed-loop rehabilitation for people with neurological disorders
We combine control theory, data-driven modeling, biomechanics, and robotics to design assistive technologies — pairing peripheral electrical stimulation and wearable robots with physiological sensing as feedback.
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Stroke
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Essential Tremor
- Parkinson’s Disease
Current research directions
Hybrid exoskeleton + FES
A lower-body powered exoskeleton that works alongside functional electrical stimulation of the quadriceps to compensate for muscle fatigue.
Ultrasound-informed control
Ultrasound imaging that quantifies muscle state — FES-induced fatigue and voluntary effort — used as feedback to control stimulation or a wearable exoskeleton.
Tremor suppression
Modeling and closed-loop control of afferent muscle stimulation to suppress tremor in Essential Tremor and related conditions.
Microrobotic neuromodulation
Control of an acoustically driven microrobot for minimally invasive, intravascular neuromodulation.
Research highlights
Overground walking with our hybrid exoskeleton and FES system.
Recent publications
Ultrasound-Informed State Estimation of Wrist Tremor Dynamics via Koopman Operator for Personalized Sensory Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
X. Xue, V. Ganesh, D. Roque, T. P. Garcia, X. Jiang, N. Sharma · IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
VisR Ultrasound for Monitoring Muscle Fatigue with FES-Induced and Volitional Isometric Contraction of the Rectus Femoris in Participants with Uninjured and Injured Spinal Cords
J. A. Armstrong, K. F. Lambeth, J. B. Richardson, N. Sharma, C. M. Gallippi · Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 1–11
Lyapunov-based Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Input-Delayed Functional Electrical Stimulation: Investigative Simulations and Experiments
K. Lambeth, Z. Sun, A. Iyer, V. Ganesh, N. Sharma · IEEE Open Journal of Control Systems
Wearable Ultrasound Sensing with Dual Arrays and Machine Learning for Real-Time Tremor Characterization and Antagonist Muscle Monitoring
X. Xue, S. Moon, V. Ganesh, Q. Cai, Y. Chu, E. Schropp, D. Roque, T. P. Garcia, N. Sharma, X. Jiang · IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, vol. 75, 4001515, 2026
Muscle Fatigue and Recovery Aware Control with a Hybrid Exoskeleton – A Preliminary Study in Spinal Cord Injury
K. F. Lambeth, A. Iyer, C. A. Cleveland, M. Lewek, N. Sharma · Wearable Technologies, 7:e11
Interested in joining or collaborating?
We welcome prospective PhD students, postdocs, and clinical and industry partners working on neurorehabilitation technology.