Soft exosuits that provide assistive force during movement could be a game changer for patients with mobility issues. Such devices can help enhance rehabilitation and assist patients while they perform everyday tasks. The idea with such technology is that the soft suit feels almost like a piece of clothing and applies force gently and evenly [&hell (Read more...)
Tag: Rehab
Electrocorticography Implant for Plug and Play Brain-Computer Control
Researchers at UC San Francisco have used an electrocorticography (ECoG) implant to develop a brain-computer interface that does not need to be recalibrated and retrained each time it is used, allowing an experienced user to plug in and begin using the system at any time. The technique could allow for brain controlled prosthetic limbs or […]
(Read more...)Electronic Skin Senses Pain, Temp, Pressure as Fast as Human Dermis
Scientists at the RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia have announced the development of an artificial skin material that can sense pain, temperature, and pressure. It’s remarkable because it replicates how real skin responds to stimuli, which sends appropriate electric signals through neural pathways to the brain. The technology is slated (Read more...)
Smartphones Monitor Users’ Movements to Detect Alcohol Intoxication
According to a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, your smartphone can tell you if you’re drunk. While this may seem like common sense to those who have witnessed the unsteady walk and unsavory speech from a friend who likely had a few too many drinks, a smartphone could […]
Neurostimulation Device Reduces Withdrawal Symptoms of Kids Born Addicted to Opioids
Children born to mothers addicted to opioids suffer through withdrawal in their first few weeks of life. Morphine is commonly used in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) to alleviate symptoms while the kids are weaned from drug dependency. This typically takes two to four weeks, all the while the children are kept in the NICU. […]
NexStride Helps Overcome Freeze of Gait in Parkinson’s
People with Parkinson’s disease and some other neurological disorders often suffer from a condition known as freezing of gait. For poorly understood reasons, initiating a step is often a challenge. Patients report a feeling of disassociation between one’s will to move and the legs not responding accordingly. This is both frustrating and (Read more...)
eSight 4 Vision Assistive Glasses Unveiled
eSight, a company based in Toronto, Canada, is releasing the latest version of its vision-improving electronic glasses for people with poor eyesight and even legal blindness. The eSight 4 sports two 1280×960 screens that display images captured and processed from the forward facing camera on the glasses. It’s indicated for people with a (Read more...)
InterStim Micro and SureScan MRI Leads Approved in U.S. for Incontinence Control
Medtronic has landed FDA approval for its InterStim Micro neurostimulator and the matching InterStim SureScan MRI leads that are used to treat overactive bladder, fecal incontinence, and non-obstructive urinary retention. The InterStim Micro is a miniaturized version of Medtronic’s InterStim II neuromodulator, being 80% smaller, but it is rec (Read more...)
Digital Guide Dog for Blind People
Guide dogs can be incredibly helpful, letting blind people maintain a level of independence that would be difficult without their loyalty. However, guide dogs require a huge amount of training and, because they’re dogs, are not practical for every blind person. Now, a student at Loughborough University in England has designed a concept handhe (Read more...)
Spinal Cord Stimulators Give Robotic Prostheses a Sense of Touch
Upper arm prostheses that give their users a sense of touch have been developed in the past (see flashbacks below). These require careful surgical placement of electrodes near the remaining nerves within the stump and precise stimulation of said nerves. Now researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have achieved a remarkable feat of using existin (Read more...)
Space Station Motor for More Comfortable, Powerful, Efficient Robotic Legs
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed robotic prosthetic legs which use motors that were originally designed for use on the robotic arm of the International Space Station. The motors allow the prostheses to move more naturally, producing less stress on the hips of users, and they are also quieter and more energy efficient [&helli (Read more...)
Glove Interprets Sign Language in Near Real Time
People that have to use sign language to communicate with others can feel like foreigners in their own land. Very few random strangers can read sign language, but a new technology out of University of California, Los Angeles may make all of us be able to understand someone speaking using signs. The UCLA team developed […]
Kyocera Helps Develop Wearable for Remote Rehab Monitoring During COVID Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a slew of new challenges for clinical facilities, including how to deliver as much care as possible at a distance. The Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) Medical Hospital is working with Kyocera to be able to deliver rehab therapy to patients while closely monitoring (Read more...)
The Rig Lets Disabled People go Offroading
People with lower limb paralysis generally don’t get to enjoy the great outdoors nearly as easily as other nature lovers. Wheelchairs aren’t designed to traverse rugged terrain and to go on long treks, but a couple in Utah wanted to design something they themselves can use to see the world and their ideas have led […]
Go-2 Spinal Stimulator Helps Return Leg Function: Interview with Jan Öhrström, Chairman of the Board, GTX Medical
GTX Medical, a medtech company with offices in The Netherlands and Switzerland, has announced that it received Breakthrough Device Designation for the Go-2 system, an implant that provides targeted epidural spinal stimulation therapy for patients with spinal cord injuries. The device aims to allow such patients to regain leg motor function and neur (Read more...)
AI Guides Prostheses to Match Walking Pattern to Terrain
Lower limb prostheses that are self-powered and help users walk fairly naturally don’t work well on varying surfaces. Walking on paved concrete is very different from traversing a grassy field, but without knowing the terrain below it is impossible for a prosthetic to adjust accordingly. Now, researchers at North Carolina State University hav (Read more...)
WalkWise Walker Attachment Helps Seniors Stay Safe and Mobile
Falls have serious consequences for seniors, especially those who live alone. Medical alert devices can notify emergency services, but they are not always worn. In addition, they do not address fall prevention by encouraging active lifestyles and physical strengthening. WalkWise hopes to fill these gaps. The Fargo, ND-based company offers a smart d (Read more...)
Soft Actuator and Sensor for Underactive Bladder Treatment
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a soft sensor and actuator to monitor bladder volume and help empty it on-demand. The device is intended to be implanted on the bladder surface during a surgical procedure to treat patients who cannot completely empty their bladders voluntarily. Patients can suffer from an underacti (Read more...)
Brain-Computer Interface Lets Man with Complete Spinal Cord Injury Feel and Move His Hand
Spinal cord injuries can leave people paralyzed and without a sense of touch in much of the body. While there’s been a tremendous amount of work in the past decade to overcome paralysis by using brain-computer interfaces to bypass damaged spinal cords, providing a sense of touch is a necessity for truly proper treatment. As […]
Lungpacer Diaphragm Pacer Gets FDA Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19
Lungpacer Medical, based in Vancouver, Canada, announced that its Diaphragm Pacing Therapy (DPT) System received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for use in weaning COVID-19 patients off of ventilators. Patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation may experience diaphragm disuse atrophy and ventilator-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction (VIDD), which (Read more...)