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Sponsor: Dr. Laura Case

lcase@health.ucsd.edu

Fiscal Contact: Gabe Hornbuckle

ghornbuckle@health.ucsd.edu

Original Project Description:

Background:

C-fibers are unmyelinated afferent sensory fibers that predominantly convey sensations of temperature and pain. Over the past several decades researchers have characterized a subset of C-fibers that respond to the sensation of slow, gentle stroke/caress. These fibers are present in hairy skin (not on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet). These fibers project to the parietal operculum like pain fibers and appear tuned to detect pleasant social touch/grooming. Most studies administer C-tactile touch in the laboratory by having a research assistant apply strokes to the skin with a soft goat hair brush. However, several studies have built robotic C-tactile brushers to fully eliminate interpersonal factors and study solely the sensory-afferent aspects of C-tactile stimulation.

Summary of MAE156 Project Objective:

The project objective is to build, design, test, and document a robotic brusher that can brush the skin in a repeated manner at an adjustable rate of 3 cm/s and 30 cm/s for a distance of 6cm and with a force of approximately 0.4°N. Device should be quiet and brushing should be smooth. Brushes will be specified by Dr. Case. Unlike most previous devices constructed, this device does not need to be MRI compatible. The device will be used in research studies conducted at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Skills Used in Project:

Are there any confidentiality issues required of the student team? No

Project Management - Progress Reports, Risk Reduction, and Schedules