Which other exoskeletons is your stroke department looking at for stroke rehabilitation? ANYTHING AT ALL? I've written about 50 posts on this over the past four years. Has your stroke department done anything about exoskeletons in those years?
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/539251/the-exoskeletons-are-coming/
Even if you lack the resources of Tony Stark, you can obtain a
high-tech suit to enhance your natural abilities, or at least help you
avoid a backache. Mechanical outfits, known as exoskeletons, are gaining
a foothold in the real world.
The Japanese company Panasonic announced recently that it will start
selling an exoskeleton designed to help workers lift and carry objects
more easily and with less risk of injury. The suit was developed in
collaboration with a subsidiary company called ActiveLink.
It weighs just over 13 pounds and attaches to the back, thighs, and
feet, enabling the wearer to carry 33 pounds of extra load. The device
has been tested by warehouse handlers in Osaka, Japan, and is currently
in trials with forestry workers in the region.
Panasonic’s device is among a small but growing number of
exoskeletons available commercially—less fantastic and more cumbersome
versions of a technology that’s been a staple of science fiction for
some time. Though they have mainly been tested in medical and military
settings, the technology is starting to move beyond these use niches,
and it could make a difference for many manual laborers, especially as
the workforce ages.
“We expect that exoskeletons, or power-assist suits, will be widely
used in people’s lives in 15 years,” says Panasonic spokesperson Mio
Yamanaka, who is based in Osaka, Japan. “We expect that they will be
used for tasks that require physical strength, such as moving things and
making deliveries, public works, construction, agriculture, and
forestry.”
The Panasonic suit includes a lightweight carbon-fiber motor; sensors
activate the motor when the wearer is lifting or carrying an object.
With ActiveLink, the company is testing another, much larger suit
designed to help carry loads as heavy as 220 pounds.
Some other companies are showing an interest in technology that can
assist workers and help prevent injury. In collaboration with ergonomics
researchers at the Technical University of Munich, the German carmaker
BMW has given workers a custom-made, 3-D-printed orthotic device that
fits over the thumb and helps them perform repetitive tasks. Another
German carmaker, Audi, is testing a wearable device from a company
called Noonee, which provides back support for workers who need to perform repetitive crouching motions.
Another Japanese company, Cyberdyne,
already sells exoskeletons for medical and industrial use. The
company’s technology, which was spun out of the University of Tsukuba,
uses nerve signals to detect a wearer’s intention to move before
applying assistive force. Earlier this year, Cyberdyne signed an
agreement with the Japanese automation company Omron to develop assistive technology for use in factories.
US Bionics a company cofounded by Homayoon Kazerooni,
a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is also working
to commercialize two exoskeletons—one for rehabilitation, which is
currently being tested in Italy, and another for industrial use. These
are designed to be very lightweight and conform well to a person’s
normal motion. Kazerooni says the industrial model, which he
demonstrated at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute last month, will be
significantly lighter, cheaper, and more flexible. “The key is not just
what the exoskeleton does in terms of lessening the load,” he says.
“It’s also about preventing maneuvers the user could do without the
device.”
Exoskeletons have found commercial traction for rehabilitation and as walking aids. Earlier this week, a company called ReWalk,
based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, announced the latest version of
its device for people with spinal-cord injuries. The system enables
people who normally require a wheelchair to walk with the aid of
crutches (see “Personal Exoskeletons for Paraplegics”). Powerful exoskeletons have also been tested by the U.S. military for some time.
Progress in the underlying technology could help make exoskeletons
more common. Conor Walsh and Robert Wood, two professors at Harvard
University, are developing exoskeletons using novel materials and
methods of assisting a wearer’s motion, making them much lighter and
more comfortable (see “Motorized Pants to Help Soldiers and Stroke Victims”). If this type of technology can be commercialized, it could make exoskeletons more appealing to workers and employers.
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