Levi Hargrove, PhD

Levi Hargrove, PhD, P. Eng., is an internationally recognized leader in the development of pattern recognition-based control systems for prosthetic limbs. At Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Dr. Hargrove leads The Regenstein Foundation Center for Bionic Medicine (CBM) — a translational research group that focuses on improving prosthetic options for people with upper- and lower-limb amputations.

Dr. Hargrove’s research focuses on developing control systems that are robust and intuitive to use, with the goal of rapid translation to patients. His work resulted in the first “thought-controlled” bionic leg, which uses electromyographic (EMG) signals from the user’s residual leg muscles, combined with mechanical sensor data from the prosthesis, to provide intuitive control of a powered device. This control system allows the user to transition seamlessly between different walking modes (e.g., from level ground to stairs) and to reposition the leg during non-weight-bearing activities, such as getting into or out of a car. Other key projects include virtual reality-based training systems to improve control of myoelectric upper-limb robotic prostheses and development of technologies for intramuscular EMG signal detection.

Dr. Hargrove manages a research budget of $25 million in grant funding from federal, military and philanthropic sources. He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, which have been published in top-tier journals — including the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine — and he has several patents.

In 2014, Dr. Hargrove’s team was awarded the Department of Defense Military Health System Research Symposium Outstanding Research Team/Academia-Industry. In 2017, Dr. Hargrove received the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Research Award — intended to recognize the most outstanding research in the field. He is a member of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, and an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering and IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics.

In 2012, Dr. Hargrove co-founded Coapt, LLC, a company born out of his work at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and the first to provide pattern recognition control systems for prosthetic arms. Since Coapt’s founding, several hundred people with upper-limb amputations have benefited from this ground-breaking technology. In 2015, Coapt received the Collaboration Award from Chicago Innovation, and in 2019, the Brian & Joyce Blatchford Team Prize for Innovation from the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics.

In addition to his work at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Dr. Hargrove is also an Associate Professor in the departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. He earned a bachelor of science (BScE) in Electrical Engineering, master of science in Electrical Engineering (MScE) and doctorate (PhD) in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in Canada.