A variety of medical conditions, including diabetic neuropathy, infections, and injuries, can lead to a reduced ability to feel touch with one’s skin. This can be frustrating and uncomfortable, but it can also result in an inability to walk in comfort, notice wounds and injuries, and deal with everyday tasks. Now researchers in China are [&he (Read more...)
Tag: Rehab
VOCSN 5-in-1 Portable Ventilator: Interview with Chris Kiple, CEO of Ventec
Ventilators are used by patients who lose lung function due to complications from a variety of diseases such as spinal cord injuries, COPD, stroke, pneumonia, and ALS. In addition to dealing with a debilitating situation, patients tend to be hooked to several machines that perform mechanical ventilation, oxygen delivery, cough assist, suction, and (Read more...)
Electronic Bandage Delivers Drugs, Leaves No Scar
Chronic wounds, such as those associated with diabetes, can be incredibly difficult to manage. Even the process of accessing and medicating the wound can be detrimental to healing. Researchers from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Harvard Medical School, and University of Connecticut are now reporting on having developed an electronic bandage that c (Read more...)
Researchers Develop High Sensitivity Electronic Skin Material
The development of electronic skin is certainly an important part of future prosthetic devices. To make a high quality artificial skin, one would have to make a very flexible system seeded with many sensors, all wired somehow to a central core where the data can be interpreted. This requires pretty impressive material design skill, but […]
Exclusive: Protolabs Help Paralympic Athlete “Monster” Mike Schultz Compete in Winter X Games Aspen 2020
Known in the racing community as “Monster” Mike Schultz, the 36-year-old from St. Cloud, MN has transformed the world of adaptive action sports in multiple ways. In 2008, Schultz suffered a knee injury during a snowmobile competition that resulted in amputation of his left leg above the knee. Limited by a prosthesis that didn’t pe (Read more...)
URGOnight Brainwave Sleep Training System Available Soon
URGO Group, a French firm, announced that it will soon be releasing its URGOnight sleep training system, a product we got a glimpse of at CES 2019. The product consists of an electroencephalography (EEG) headband and a smartphone app that people can use to train their brains to sleep better. Utilizing EEG neurofeedback, the technology […]
Wearable Premature Ejaculation Therapy Device
Morari Medical, a Minnesota firm, claims to have developed a wearable, smartphone controlled device for treating premature ejaculation (PE). A prototype of the device was shown off at CES 2020, although there were no demonstrations of its capabilities. The device uses neuromodulation to mediate the signals passing between the brain and nerves withi (Read more...)
CES 2020: Sensoria Health’s Total Knee Replacement Tech
Total knee replacements (arthroplasties) have become some of the most common surgeries performed in hospitals these days. To achieve optimal results the implants themselves have to be well engineered and manufactured, and follow-up monitoring and therapy have to be done properly. Sensoria Health, an Italian company, has developed a number of techno (Read more...)
OrCam Camera and Hearing Buds Combo Intelligently Amplify Speech: CES 2020
For many people who have hearing problems it is noisy environments, such as busy restaurants, that are their main problem. Hearing aids help somewhat, but even the most advanced ones can’t amplify only single individuals that the user is talking to when there are other speakers nearby. At CES 2020 we ran into OrCam, an […]
InterStim Micro Neurostimulator and SureScan MRI Leads Cleared in Europe for Incontinence Control
Medtronic won EU regulatory clearance to introduce its InterStim Micro neurostimulator and InterStim SureScan MRI leads. The devices are used to deliver sacral neuromodulation therapy to treat overactive bladder (OAB), fecal incontinence, and non-obstructive urinary retention. The InterStim Micro is a much tinier version of Medtronic’s InterS (Read more...)
Brilliant Sole Makes Any Shoe a Smart Shoe: CES 2020
Our feet are impressively capable, but they’re virtually ignored as a method for interacting with computers and other electronics. Brilliant Sole, a company out of Wilmington, North Carolina, has been developing technologies to allow the feet, via a pair of smart soles, to be used as a controller for other devices. We envision such capabiliti (Read more...)
Eargo Launches Neo HiFi Hearing Tech at CES 2020
Eargo was at CES 2020 this year showing off their novel hearing aid technology. Their devices sit in the ear in a unique way and are nearly invisible to those around. They launched a new product this year. Take a look:
Flashback:Destigmat…
SmartCuffs Bring Blood Flow Restriction Training to Consumers
CES 2020, the world’s premier gadget show, just kicked off in Las Vegas. A great number of products will be presented that deal with health and medicine, and we have a reporter on site who will be bringing exclusives from the show floor. One company presenting this year is SmartTools, based outside of Cleveland, Ohio, […]
Robotic Trunk Support Device for Rehabilitation Post Spinal Cord Injury
Researchers at Columbia University have developed a robotic device that can help people with spinal cord injuries to improve their trunk control, allowing them to sit more stably and expand their range of motion when sitting. The device consists of a motorized belt that attaches to the torso, and which applies forces as users complete […]
Comcast Partners with NuEyes to Make TV Accessible to People with Low Vision
In the past few years, Comcast, a television company, has been putting some serious effort into making its content more accessible to people with disabilities. It recently released its X1 eye control offering that lets users change channels, search for shows, schedule recordings of shows, and more by simply looking at specific areas of the [&hellip (Read more...)
Bonding Rubber and Electrical Components for Soft Medical Sensors
Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a way to create a tight bond between rubber and electrical components. The method could pave the way for a variety of soft sensors for medical applications. For instance, such sensors could provide a signal when squeezed or stretched, with potential in monitoring patient rehabilitation after han (Read more...)
Dr. Hugh Herr, Founder of BionX: On The Superpowers of Bionic Technologies
Two young and extremely talented rock and ice climbers set out to summit Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the Northeastern United States (6,288 feet) and considered to be the world’s most dangerous small mountain, in January of 1982. Despite careful planning, an unfortunate turn in the weather caused Hugh Herr and his friend Jeff [… (Read more...)
Wireless Skin VR System For Prosthetic Users
Researchers from City University of Hong Kong and Northwestern University have developed a wearable “skin” that can impart a sense of touch through vibrations on the user’s skin beneath. The device is powered and controlled wirelessly, and could provide a sense of touch for prosthetic users and aid in rehabilitation. Imparting a s (Read more...)
New Device Improves Speech of People with Parkinson’s
Many people with Parkinson’s disease tend to talk more quietly and less clearly than before the disease struck them. Speech therapy can help in many cases, but a device recently developed at Purdue University automatically activates an internal mechanism in users that to spurs them to speak louder and more intelligibly. The SpeechVive device, (Read more...)
Art Therapy Using Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is already used in medicine to train surgeons, fight phobias, and even help with early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Drexel University have now taken the first steps to apply virtual reality in the field of art therapy. “Art therapy is founded on the idea that creative expression with an art therapist (Read more...)