Reimagining Mobility: Tulane Students Design Low-Cost Device for Foot Drop

In a biomedical engineering capstone course at Tulane University, a group of students is working on a problem called foot drop, which rarely receives attention but shapes everyday life for thousands of patients. And for those who live with it, something as simple as walking becomes unpredictable.

“It’s pretty much the inability to lift your foot,” said Marisa Ricci. “So, your foot’s kind of hanging down… your toes are pointing toward the ground. That makes it really difficult to walk, because you’re pretty much going to run into the ground and trip and fall.”

Foot drop is not a standalone condition. It is often a symptom of neurological disorders such as stroke or multiple sclerosis. Through their research and clinical exposure, the team learned just how common it can be. “The statistic that we have is 20 to 30 percent of stroke patients develop foot drop,” said Matthew Vuong.

For this group of Tulane seniors, the project did not begin with a textbook. It started with a real person. “We’ve been plotting on it for a while,” said Allison Wu. “Marisa has a family friend who has foot drop and has been struggling to find a device… after interviewing him, we felt like that was a good fit.”

That initial idea grew into something much larger when the team began visiting a rehabilitation clinic and working alongside stroke patients. “We just got the opportunity to come and hang out and learn a bit more about what it really looks like for people that have foot drop,” Vuong said.

Most existing solutions rely on rigid braces that hold the foot in a fixed position. While those devices can prevent tripping, they often come with tradeoffs in comfort, cost, and long-term recovery. “This is $600,” Ricci said, referring to a commonly used brace. “And it’s not really very comfortable, and it also doesn’t help you recover.”

Instead of locking the foot into place, the team set out to build something that moves with the body. Their device uses a pair of linear actuators and microcontrollers to track motion and respond in real time. Sensors on the thigh measure movement and angle, sending that data to the system at the ankle.

“What the thigh does is it actually has an accelerometer and gyroscope… determining the angle of the person’s thigh as they are walking,” said Matthew Scherp. “It will determine the person’s angle and tell the linear actuators whether to extend or retract.”

As the user begins to step forward, the device lifts the foot just enough to clear the ground. As the step finishes, it returns the foot to a natural position. “So, while they’re about to swing it forward, the system signals to extend and lift the foot up so that the toe is pointed upwards and able to clear the ground,” Scherp said. The result is a system designed to support natural movement rather than restrict it.

Cost was just as important as function. Many assistive devices are priced out of reach, creating barriers for patients who need them most. The Tulane team approached the problem differently by building with accessible components. “Our linear actuators are like $20… we just bought hobby components,” Ricci said. “I could say we’d be hitting around 100 bucks for cost,” Scherp added. That difference has real implications. It shifts the conversation from innovation alone to accessibility and long-term impact.

For the students, the project brought together everything they have learned over four years at Tulane, from circuits and coding to mechanical design and patient-centered thinking. “It’s seeing all the things we’ve learned over the past four years come together,” Ricci said. “The marrying of the electrical and the mechanical side.”

It also pushed them beyond traditional engineering. Through the process, they explored commercialization, patent development, and the broader question of how an idea becomes a real product. “The class also gives you a lot of exposure to other facets of biotech,” Wu said. “We talk about commercialization, entrepreneurship… and I’ve gotten to practice writing a patent.”

The device is still in development, with testing and approvals ahead, but the team is eager to share what they have built. “It’s really awesome to show off what we’ve learned, because Expo is a really big event for us,” Wu said. “We love when people come, and we’re really excited to demo our product.”

You can see the device in action at the Tulane Engineering Capstone Expo on April 23 at 9 a.m. in the Lavin-Bernick Center, where the team will demonstrate how the system works and give visitors a closer look at the technology behind it.

Looking ahead, the students hope their work continues beyond this semester. “We hope to pass down the project,” Wu said. “I think it could be a good project to continue for future classes.”

That is part of what makes this work matter. This is not just about a single device. It is about what happens when students are given the freedom to identify real problems, engage with real people, and build something that has the potential to make a difference.

They are not just learning engineering. They are learning how to apply it where it matters most.