BOSTON and KINGSTON – University of Rhode Island faculty member He “Helen” Huang, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer & Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded the 2008 Delsys Prize.

The contest was established six years ago by Carlo J. De Luca – founder and president of medical technology companies Delsys Inc. and Altec Inc., and founding director of the NeuroMuscular Research Center at Boston University – to encourage innovation in electromyography (EMG), the study of the electrical signal generated by muscles as they contract. Those signals are the focus of Delsys, which designs, manufactures and markets EMG and electrocardiography (EKG) sensors and related technology.

“I am deeply honored by the recognition,” Huang, a Warwick resident, said in a statement. “The Delsys Prize is a significant milestone for scientists like me, as it inspires us to tackle the most challenging questions concerning the workings of the neuromuscular system.”

Her proposal – “Toward Neural Control of Artificial Legs: A New Strategy to Identify Locomotion Modes Using EMG,” seeking to develop data that someday may be used in developing a better artificial limb – was one of 50 entries by candidates around the world, whose submissions were evaluated by a panel of five experts from industry and academia. The winner gets more than recognition. Huang also will receive a Delsys Myomonitor IV 16-channel wireless EMG system with EMGWorks software – a package valued at $19,900 – for use in her work.

“We are delighted to hear that Dr. He ‘Helen’ Huang – a recently hired faculty member in the Biomedical Engineering program at the University of Rhode Island – has received the prestigious Delsys Prize,”

Faye Boudreaux-Bartels, the department chair, said in a statement late yesterday. “The Delsys EMG system awarded to Dr. Huang as part of this prize will be used for EMG control of prosthesis, and thus will benefit not only Dr. Huang’s research but that of her Biomedical Engineering graduate students as well.”

A recipient of previous honors including fellowships from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and the Globe Foundation, Huang came to URI from Chicago, where she did her postdoctoral research at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Neural Engineering Center for Artificial Limbs (NECAL), working under Todd A. Kuiken.

“Helen has developed a novel EMG decoder that has great potential to become an effective neural interface for the next generation of lower-limb prostheses,” Kuiken said. “I believe her work has launched an important new area of EMG analysis, with clinical applications that are far-reaching.”

The University of Rhode Island is a member – along with the Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College – of the statewide public university system overseen by the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education. Additional URI news and information are available at www.uri.edu/news.

Delsys Inc. is a small company that designs and makes devices to evaluate muscle activity. Its products range from electromyography (EMG) and electrocardiography (EKG) technology for measuring the electrical signal generated by a muscle or heart as it contracts to accelerometers, goniometers and other devices for measuring the position or acceleration of a body segment. Additional information – including application guidelines for the company’s annual Delsys Prize – is available at www.delsys.com.