BionicsNew Air Powered Robotic Hand
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech has developed a unique robotic hand that can firmly hold objects as heavy as a can of food or as delicate as a raw egg, while dexterous enough to gesture for sign language.
Named RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), the fully articulated robotic hand is powered by a compressor air tank at 60 psi and a novel accordion type tube actuator. Microcontroller commands operate the movement to coordinate the motion of the fingers.
$20 Artificial Knee For Patients In The Developing World
UpgradeYourBody normally submits stories on the latest high tech gadgets but I thought for once I'd write about a cheap low tech device that can help many more people. Bionic legs can cost tens of thousands of dollars which puts them way out of reach for patients in the third world. Now a prosthetic knee is available for just $20 and will no doubt make a difference in many lives.
Joel Sadler and his classmates faced a daunting challenge in their Biomedical Device Design and Evaluation course. There were given a task to create a low-cost, high-performance prosthetic knee joint for amputees in the developing world. Dubbed the JaipurKnee Project, the team aimed to help rectify lives ravaged by war and diseases such as diabetes.
Next Generation of Ossur Power Knee
Ossur who deveops prosthetic limbs announced recently that its second generation Power Knee bionic prosthesis was implanted in a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.The power knee uses sensors and actuators, coupled with artificial intelligence to better mimic natural walking with less effort by the patient.
Medical Robotics Expert Explores the Human Machine Interface
Jacob Rosen is developing a wearable robotic "exoskeleton" that could enable a person to lift heavy objects with little effort. It's a bit like the robotic armor that has long been a staple of futuristic battle scenes in science fiction books and movies. But what excites Rosen is the device's potential to help people disabled by stroke or degenerative diseases.
"People with muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular disabilities could use the exoskeleton to amplify their muscle strength, and it could also be used for rehabilitation and physical therapy," said Rosen, an associate professor of computer engineering in the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Engineering a Bioartificial Pancreas
Another review by Dr. Cherie Stabler and colleagues from the Diabetes Research Institute and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami (Florida), evaluated the engineering of bio-hybrid devices and encapsulation technologies that may aid in the success of islet transplants. According to the researchers, the transplantation of islet cells into the portal vein of the liver has presented several challenges. Overcoming those challenges means recognizing important issues such as vascularization, mechanical protection, device design, biomaterial selection and quality control in device engineering.>
"A recent focus has been to redesign bio-hybrid devices that promote vascularization and effective nutrient delivery to prevent islet cell necrosis and at the same time minimize device volumes," said Stabler.
Nucleus Freedom by Cochlear
Bionic Implant to Repair Spinal Chord
The idea of putting a bionic implant into the spine is to restore mobility to people with paraplegia or spinal cord injury. Existing bionic implants use electrodes that connect to muscles in the leg. More than a dozen people have received early prototypes. But their ability to stand and walk has been limited. Its been described as robotic and tiring.
To date these systems involve a walking frame and you press a button to extend or flex your leg.
Artificial Livers
Scientists separately in the U.S. and the U.K. have been working on developing an artificial liver. The artificial liver works outside the body in a way similar to kidney dialysis. The idea is to create a device that would buy time for a patient with acute liver failure where the liver has the potential to regenerate. Blood would be taken from the patient directly into the bioartificial liver, allowing their own liver a rest from processing toxins. This could allow the patient's liver to heal itself. The treatment would take a number of weeks or months before the liver was repaired.
It could also be used as a bridge to transplantation where the patient has chronic liver failure due to hepatitis, cirrhosis or other irreversible damage, and would buy valuable time before transplantation. It will provide some of the lost functions.
HepaMate™ made by Hepalife will be undergoing a new pivotal Phase III clinical trial in the United States in 2010. It follows a clinical Phase I and pivotal Phase II/III studies involving more than 200 patients. which revealed a statistically significant survival advantage for patients with fulminant and subfulminant hepatic failure when treated with HepaMate compared to controls receiving standard medical care alone.
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