Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have developed a system to track hand use in people with a hand prosthesis or patients who have undergone a hand transplant. The technology tracks movement in the hands and arms, and helps to monitor how people use their hands in everyday life. Such data could help to guide […]
Tag: Rehab
Thought-to-Text Brain-Computer Interface: Interview with Florian Solzbacher, Chairman of Blackrock Neurotech
Blackrock Neurotech, a medical technology company based in Salt Lake City, created a suite of brain-computer interface systems with the goal of empowering patients to have increased independence and quality of life. This latest technology aims to restore written communication in patients who have difficulties in this regard, such as those affected (Read more...)
Voxel-Based Technique to Streamline Bioprinting
At the University of Virginia researchers developed a new bioprinting technique based on voxels. Voxels are 3D cubes that form basic building blocks in computer graphics, similar to what pixels are for 2D, and have been popularized by games such as Minecraft. The new technique involves printing discrete spherical blobs of bioink (as the voxels) [&h (Read more...)
Washable Fabric Measures Electrical Activity of Muscles
Researchers at the University of Utah engineered a wearable fabric that can function as a biosensor, measuring electrical activity of muscles. The technology could be useful for physical rehabilitation, allowing clinicians and physical therapists to monitor patients’ progress. The fabric contains a network of silver flakes and gold nanopartic (Read more...)
Personalized Exosuit Uses Ultrasound to Adapt to User’s Needs
At Harvard University a team of scientists and engineers developed an exosuit that uses ultrasound to measure muscle activity. The capability allows for rapid calibration of the suit for users’ needs. The soft wearable device continuously assists when walking or running, reducing the energy required to perform these tasks, which could be very (Read more...)
Synthetic Peptides Jump Around to Repair Spinal Injuries
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed an injectable therapeutic that consists of synthetic peptide sequences intended to regenerate spinal tissue. The team designed the material so that it would allow the peptides to ‘dance,’ with such movements increasing the chance that they will find and interact with receptor protein (Read more...)
Wireless Blood Pressure and Hemodynamic Monitoring: Interview with Jeff Pompeo, CEO, Caretaker Medical
Caretaker Medical, a company based in Virginia, developed the VitalStream wireless patient monitor, and the company recently announced that the device has received FDA clearance. The technology is intended to improve on traditional blood pressure cuffs that provide only a snap-shot of blood pressure data, while being an alternative, in many cases, (Read more...)
Robotic Textiles for Breathing Recovery
Researchers at MIT, alongside collaborators from Uppsala University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, developed a ‘robotic textile’ that consists of an array of actuatable fibers. The fiber actuators are powered using compressed air, and can perform an impressive array of movements. Garments made using such fibers can sen (Read more...)
Exoskeleton Helps Above-Knee Amputees to Walk
Researchers at the University of Utah built an exoskeleton that can ease walking for people with above-knee amputations. The new system, which uses an electromechanical actuator attached to the thigh and AI to adapt to each person’s walking style, significantly reduces energy consumption for users. Above-knee amputations are particularly chal (Read more...)
EvoWalk Digital Therapy Platform: Interview with Pierluigi Mantovani, CEO at Evolution Devices
Evolution Devices, a company based in California, created a functional electrical stimulation device to assist people with foot drop to walk more freely. Foot drop is caused by muscle weakness/paralysis, and those affected struggle to lift the front part of their foot, which makes walking difficult and can lead to falls. The product is called [&hel (Read more...)
Algorithm Helps Rehab Robots to Move Naturally
Researchers at the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan have developed a control algorithm for rehabilitation robots that ensures that they move naturally during rehab sessions. The control system accounts for the angles the joints in a human arm naturally make while performing various activities, and won’t let the robot attempt to bend (Read more...)
Cleveland Clinic’s New Prosthetic Arm with Advanced Functionality
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have developed an advanced bionic arm that allows users with upper limb amputations to achieve a similar level of function as non-amputees. The system incorporates a sense of touch and movement and allows for intuitive motor control. The device is intended for users who have undergone targeted sensory and motor [ (Read more...)
Magnetic Beads for More Precise Control of Bionic Limbs
At MIT a team of engineers have developed a system that they claim will enhance a user’s control of a bionic limb. The technology consists of implantable magnetic beads and a series of sensors that can monitor their movement. When implanted within a muscle in a residual limb, pairs of the beads can provide information […]
Inflatable Prosthetic Hand with a Sense of Touch
Researchers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University created an inexpensive robotic hand intended for use by upper limb amputees. The device is more like a soft robot than previous robotic prostheses, and includes inflatable components and pneumatics, making it lightweight and inexpensive. Excitingly, the hand is equipped with sensors and provides (Read more...)
Pressure-Sensing Glove to Aid in Stroke Recovery
Researchers at MIT created a sensing glove that can detect small pressuref changes along its surface when a wearer grasps something. The glove is threaded with tiny pressure sensors, which are studded with micropillars that create changes in an electrical signal when they bend and deform. This provides an incredibly sensitive measurement of tactile (Read more...)
Robotic Brace Measures Neck Mobility in Cancer Patients
Patients with head and neck cancer frequently require surgical removal of lymph nodes from the neck. While this is necessary, it can cause pain and stiffness that can persist for a long time after surgery. Assessing neck mobility of such patients would be useful, as it would allow doctors to identify deficits in range of […]
(Read more...)Artificial Skin Bruises Like The Real Thing
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed an artificial skin that can effectively indicate if damage has occurred, in the same way that our skin bruises naturally. The new skin is made using an ionic hydrogel, and demonstrates changes in electrical signaling when it is deformed. It also produces a purple color […]
Brain Stimulation Lets User Feel Robotic Arm
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated that providing direct sensory feedback into the brain dramatically enhanced an impaired patient’s control of a robotic arm. The arm was operated through a brain-computer interface, but the system also included brain implants in an area of the brain responsible for sensory feedback. (Read more...)
Brain-Computer Interface Translates Imagined Writing into Typed Text
Researchers in the BrainGate Collaboration (which includes researchers from Brown University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, the Providence VA Medical Center, Stanford University, and Case Western Reserve University) have developed a new iteration of their brain-computer interface which allows a spinal injury patient to typ (Read more...)
First Brain-Computer Robotic Stroke Rehab System Authorized by FDA
Neurolutions, a company with offices in Santa Cruz, CA and St. Louis, MO, won FDA de novo authorization to introduce its IpsiHand stroke rehab system in the United States. This is the first approval of a brain-computer interface technology for the rehabilitation of stroke patients, and it promises a faster and more complete recovery of […]