Photo: Jeff Ackerman and Justin Siepel (far right) meet with client prospects as part of their NSF i-Corps project.)

Musculoskeletal injuries are the second most common reason to go to the doctor and cost $850 billion a year in the United States alone. Through their National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research on robotics, a Purdue graduate student and his advisor have created a device to help alleviate such injuries for people who carry heavy luggage, briefcases and even medical stretchers.