PULSE Racing is aiming to participate with a brand new bike at the Cybathlon in 2020. The Engineering Department of PULSE Racing has been around for a few months now and a good start has been made with developing this bike. The rough design is well underway as several aspects have been researched and optimized. The best framework design for the bike has been chosen as well as the optimal wheels for this specific race. Read more…
A start has been made with electromyography, EMG for short. By means of EMG it is possible to find out more about muscle activation. By testing this on ourselves, we can gain a better insight into muscle activation while cycling on the Berkelbike. We then incorporated these insights into the stimulation patterns for our athletes, in order to create an optimal pedaling cycle. Do you also want to focus on optimizing electrostimulation and Read more…
In the past month we started using the pointer during training with our athletes. This allows us to locate active motor units in order to position our electrodes even more adequately. Through better positioning of the electrodes, we hope to be able to cause stronger muscle contraction.
I’m Martijn Wierstra and this year I am a trainer at Pulse Racing. Together with the other trainers we are looking at what the best method are to train our paraplegic athletes, so that they can achieve maximum results during the Cybathlon in 2020. This is challenging to do because so many different aspects need to be taken into account, such as the possibilities of the cross-loop, but also finding the ideal stimulation pattern. The Read more…
For the first time, our athlete Sander Koomen has cycled no less than 1317m on his own leg muscle with the help of functional electrostimulation (FES). For the Cybathlon competition, an athlete must be able to cycle 1200 meters on their own leg muscle with FES. Our athlete will certainly reach the finish! In addition, this year our athlete also trained outside for the first time. In the upcoming year we will focus primarily on intensifying Read more…
More than less than a year we are at the Cybathlon 2020 in Zurich. At the Cybathlon we will do our very best to set the fastest time during Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Bike Race. Our job is to keep on improving in the run-up to the Cybathlon. Do you want to participate in these developments and prepare our athletes perfectly for Zurich? Then sign up and make sure you are part of it!
At the beginning of February the team was guest in Reade for a training. Reade, the rehabilitation center in Amsterdam, which our team is connected to, guides many paraplegic patients in their rehabilitation. We can learn a lot from their many years of experience and therefore a workshop was organized. This workshop was given by physiotherapist Jeroen and experience expert Reda. The focus was mainly on assisting during transfers. Many people with paraplegia can move Read more…
Below the story of our first colleague from TU Delft, Dion Hogervorst. We are proud that he has joined our team! Dion Since a couple of months I have started as (the first) engineer of PULSE Racing. The improvement and innovation of the bike’s mechanical aspects fall under my responsibility. Eventually I hope to design the most optimal bike that suits the needs of our athletes. Because of my background in mechanical engineering I am Read more…
Below is the personal experience of our deputy manager, Birgit. She ensures that everything goes smoothly within the PULSE Racing teams. Birgit My name is Birgit Kaman and this year I have been deputy manager of the team. Together with the team manager and the chiefs, I form the management of PULSE Racing II. I take care of the contact within the VU and the team and make sure everything is organised. I am a Read more…
Lisanne, Chief Human Power, is an international student at the VU University Amsterdam who is also very excited to be part of PULSE Racing. Below her personal experience. Lisanne When I started working with PULSE, I wasn’t quite sure what I could expect. I had some experience working with disabled athletes and individuals with neurodegenerative diseases but have never had the chance to work with innovative assistive technologies such as functional electrical stimulation and athletes Read more…