The Motor Control Research Laboratory
Charles T. Leonard, PT, PhD
Professor and Laboratory Director, charles.leonard@umontana.edu
Elizabeth Ikeda, PT, DPT, MS, OCS
Associate Professor, elizabeth.ikeda@umontana.edu
Sheng Li, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, sheng.li@umontana.edu
A student working on a Robotic Assistive Repetitive Motion Device being developed in the laboratory.
The Motor Control Research Laboratory is located in 015 Skaggs Building. The laboratory is devoted to the study of the neuromuscular contributes to the coordination of movement. Various clinical neurophysiological testing methodologies are typically used for these studies. Experimental subjects include athletes, individuals with cerebral palsy and individuals post-stroke. Equipment in the laboratory includes surface electromyography, a balance platform, a finger force measuring apparatus, transcranial magnetic stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulators, proprioceptive measuring devices, Myotonometers®(muscle tone measuring devices), and a computerized isokinetic dynamometer.
Funding and Research Collaborations
Funding for the laboratory has been provided by The MJ Murdock Charitable Trust Foundation, The National Institutes of Health (NIH), The National Science Foundation, The Montana Space Grant Consortium and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In addition, a Space Act Agreement between the laboratory, Neurogenic Technologies, Inc. and NASA's Johnson Space Center has been established. This permits scientific collaborations, data sharing and access to specialized facilities. Other research collaborations include The University of California, San Diego, Queensland University of Technology (Australia), Pavlov Research Institute (Russia), The University of Washington, and Montana State University. UM Relations Review
Current Projects
A muscle testing device, The Myotonometer , was developed in the laboratory and patented. The device is now FDA approved.
Current projects include the examination of the neural control of finger forces, reciprocal inhibition (how muscles that oppose a movement are shut off), myotonometric measurements of muscle tone and strength, the effects of breathing on maximal force production, muscle sequencing of hip musculature during changes in stance posture, relationships among impairments and disability, the effects of robotics on rehabilitation, and the effects of motor imagery on motor performance. In 2006 two DPT students traveled to NASA's Johnson Space Center to conduct experiments in weightlessness aboard the C-9 parabolic aircraft. www.spacegrant.montana.edu/text/EPSCoR_Leonard_ Myotonometric.html and http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov
Research within the laboratory has resulted in a patent for a non-invasive muscle tone and strength measuring device, The Myotonometer®. This device has also received FDA clearance and a university spin-off company has been formed to manufacture and market the device. Three other invention disclosures for other medical devices have been filed with The University's Research Administration office. A robotic assistive repetitive motion (ARM) rehabilitation device and a finger/wrist force measuring device are currently in development.
A Space Act Agreement established a research collaboration between the laboratory, Neurogenic Technologies, Inc. and NASA.
Physical therapy students Jim Sykes and Eric Kruger joined Drs. Leonard and Feeback, Head, Muscle Physiology Research Laboratory NASA's Johnson Space Center aboard NASA's C-9 aircraft at Johnson Space Center for experiments conducted in weightlessness.
