About the lab
The Neuromuscular Research Laboratory is located in the Robinson building on the KU Medical Center campus in Kansas City, Kansas. It has 1,825 sq.ft. of lab space containing 10 rooms (five offices, two patient dressing rooms, one handicap accessible bathroom, a service area and large testing area for various human subject experiments).
Meet the Lab Team
Lab Director
Wen Liu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Science, and Athletic Training
University of Kansas Medical Center
Liu teaches in the KU doctoral programs of physical therapy and rehabilitation science. After serving as a research engineer in the biomechanics laboratory at Yale University School of Medicine, Liu earned a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia. His current research is in the area of motor learning, postural control and gait disorders in individuals with age-related diseases such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Learn more on his faculty bio page.
Graduate Students
Mustapha Mangdow, M.S.
A student in KU's doctoral program in rehabilitation science, Mangdow holds degrees in physical therapy and master of public health monitoring and evaluation from the University of Ghana. Before starting his doctoral studies, Mangdow spent seven years working as a physical therapist within the Ghana Health Service in west Africa. His research interests center around exploring self-management of stroke, robot-assisted gait training and the combined impact of robot-assisted gait training and spinal cord stimulation on motor function in stroke patients.
Derong Yang, M.S.
Yang has a bachelor's degree in medical imaging and a master's degree in biomedical engineering. His research interests involve the development of robot-assisted gait training devices/programs by integrating advanced computer technologies (including artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies) and mechanical engineering technologies.
Research Staff
Carrie Bailey, M.A.
Bailey earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is currently working on a doctorate in psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Her role in the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory involves assisting with data collection for the non-ambulatory stroke survivors project and Qigong effects on fibromyalgia project.
Rahul Rayan, D.O.
Rayan earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Valparaiso University and his doctorate in osteopathic medicine from University of New England.
Gregory Tinkler, DPT
Raised in Rose Hill, Kansas, Tinkler earned a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Kansas. He began work as a graduate research assistant after being awarded the Kansas University Training Program in Neurological and Rehabilitation Sciences NIH T32 award in 2021 and 2022. Practicing as a licensed physical therapist in an outpatient orthopedic setting, Tinkler has a special interest in neuromuscular conditions. He has primarily assisted the lab in its research efforts pertaining to an ongoing study to provide bodyweight-supported treadmill training with a robotic limb assistance device to survivors of stroke who are largely non-ambulatory.
Lab Equipment
The laboratory is currently equipped with high-tech equipment, such as motion-measurement systems, force platforms, a desk robot used for upper extremity training, a wireless EMG system, a Biodex Dynanometery System, and Biopac ECG, EBI and EEG systems.
OPTOTRAK 3020 Motion Analysis System
(Northern Digital, Inc. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) 
A pre-configured and pre-calibrated system, this equipment allows fast set-up and immediate use for motion measurement. The system uses active markers with an accuracy of up to 0.1 mm and a resolution of 0.01mm. It can collect 3D data with 3 markers at a frame rate of 450Hz. Its size and weight make it easy to move between locations.
The system has been widely used in the lab to collect kinematic data in studies of gait, gait initiation, single-limb stance balance, and hand movement. In most of applications, the collected 3D raw data is further processed using the lab-made programs.
Biodex System 3 Pro
(Biodex Medical Systems, Inc., Shirley, New York) 
This is a sophisticated piece of equipment for performing dynamometry on human subjects. It can be used to train and test isometric, isokinetic, isotonic and passive modes of muscle performance in normal and pathological conditions. The system can be used to test large as well as small joints of the body. These include the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle.
The laboratory has also purchased an attachment for measurements of trunk rotational strength. The system can provide concentric and eccentric isokinetic testing at speeds of 1 to 500 deg/s and 1 to 300 deg/s respectively. The instrument can measure a wide range of concentric torque (1 to 500 ft-lbs) and eccentric torque (1 to 300 ft-lbs).
AMTI OR6-5AMTI Biomechanics Force Platform
(Advanced Medical Technology, Inc., Watertown, MA) 
The lab has two of these devices as part of an extended walkway to measure simultaneously forces about the anterior-posterior, mediolateral and vertical axes of bodies in contact with the force platform surface, as well as the moment component about the vertical axis on its surface. This makes it useful to study ground reaction forces and moments for balance as well as gait studies. 
Each force platform weighs about 70 pounds and can function within a wide range of temperatures (0 to 125?F). The forces and moments are measured by strain gauges near the four corners of the platform. The upper limits of the platform are 5000N (1125lb) of vertical load and 2000N (450lb) of shear force applied anywhere on the platform.
i-glasses SVGA Head Mounted Display
( i-O Display Systems, Sacramento, California) 
This device can be used to provide an immersive virtual world for subjects to interact with. Its most notable feature is that the field of regard covers the entire sphere surrounding the viewer and there are no gaps in imagery regardless of which direction the user looks. It is primarily suited for a first-person point of view and has a resolution of 1.44 million pixels per display (800X600 RGB color sequential system).
It accepts either a VGA (640X480) or an SVGA (800X600) computer input at 60Hz. The field of view is 26.5 degrees diagonal and its eye relief is 25 mm. Its weight is not more than 7 Ounces, especially suited for patients and the weak.
InMotion2 Shoulder-Elbow Robot
(Interactive Motion Technology, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts) 
With a workspace accommodating normal reach, this equipment moves, guides or perturbs a subject’s arm while it records motions and mechanical quantities such as position, velocity, and forces applied. Researchers may program the subject's video interactions, while therapy clinics have access to libraries of "video games" that engage patients in ways appropriate to their level of impairment. Software is designed to maximize safety, flexibility, and ease of use.
The operating system is a Linux Kernel Module with access to a small real-time microkernel, providing robust sampling rates. The RTLinux system provides data portals between kernel and user modes, enabling the LKM to exchange data with normal Linux processes for control input/output, output logging, or output display.
TrueOne® 2400 Metabolic Measurement System
(Parvo Medics, Inc. Sandy, UT) 
This device measures VO2 max as well as lung function. Some specific measurements using the system include VO2Max, RER, FEV, FVC, METS, VCO2, VE, VT. The system can be linked with any Polar® Heart Rate Monitor.