So ask your competent? doctor which soft robotics already out there will help you recover. Don't take; 'I don't know' for an answer. If your doctor doesn't know about all of these; you don't have a functioning stroke doctor! In my opinion a stroke doctor should be up-to-date on ALL stroke research! Since these interventions are not meeting stroke survivor needs your doctor should be initiating research to meet those needs.
- soft exosuit (18 posts to May 2016)
- soft robotic glove (3 posts to July 2023)
- Soft Robotics (35 posts to February 2015)
- soft wearables (1 post to August 2022)
Send me hate mail on this: oc1dean@gmail.com. I'll print your complete statement with your name and my response in my blog. Or are you afraid to engage with my stroke-addled mind? No excuses are allowed! You're medically trained; it should be simple to precisely refute all my points with NO EXCUSES!! And what is your definition of competence in stroke? Swearing at me is allowed, I'll return the favor. Don't even attempt to use the excuse that brain research is hard.
The latest here:
Why Soft Robotics Could Be the Future of Stroke Rehabilitation
The flexible technology could bring stroke rehab into patients’ homes. (IF you had a competent doctor you would already be using these, but you don't, do you?)
Around two-thirds of stroke patients struggle with impaired mobility. Behaviors that were previously straightforward, such as walking, showering oneself or getting dressed, become difficult if not impossible to carry out unassisted.
To
regain some control over their bodies, patients often undergo physical
rehabilitation therapy. This process varies from patient to patient,
with some of the most debilitated benefiting from electromechanical
equipment. These bulky apparatuses resemble sci-fi exoskeletons. A hoist
keeps the patient upright while steel joints around their limbs aid
their movement. If the patient is receiving rehabilitation for walking, a
treadmill may be used.
While
these contraptions have helped thousands of people regain their
independence, they do have their drawbacks. Namely, they’re often large
and heavy, and therefore only available in specialized hospital wards.
But it might not always be this way, accowrding to Dr. Jacqueline Libby.
Libby,
an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Stevens
Institute of Technology, is pioneering a new era of stroke
rehabilitation equipment made from soft, pneumatic actuators that
integrate with the body. Lighter and less cumbersome than traditional
mechanized support frames, these “soft exosuits” could one day be
available for patients to wear and use in their homes.
Libby detailed her research at Technology Networks’ recent Laboratory of the Future 2025 symposium.
A growing need
“We live in a world with an aging population,” Libby told the Technology Networks audience. “By 2050, the number of people over 65 will have doubled compared to children, and by 2100, it will be 5 times as many.”
This demographic shift will bring with it a surge of age-related health conditions; stroke predominantly affects people over the age of 55.
To meet this impending need, Libby says that the field of stroke rehabilitation will need to adapt, or risk failing patients.
“If stroke patients don’t get therapy during the first three months, they might be paralyzed for life,” she emphasized.
Extending rehabilitation into patients’ homes could be a vital way to make such adaptations.
“Robots in the home could be huge,” Libby said, “for making therapy more accessible and affordable.”
To
usher in this age of domestic robotics, Libby and her team at the
Stevens Institute have developed prototypes for more flexible,
lightweight rehabilitation suits. These designs rely on soft, pneumatic
actuators made from silicone reinforced with flexible fibers to inflate
and contract like artificial muscles when moved.
“We
cast molds, inject silicone and wrap the actuators with thread for
reinforcement,” Libby described. “The goal is to create lightweight,
portable devices that patients can use comfortably at home.”
To respond to a patient’s intended movement, the suits are fitted with biosensing technologies that react to neural signals.
“If
a stroke patient intends to move their hand but can’t, our sensors can
read their muscle signals and translate that intent into movement,”
Libby explained.
“This creates a full feedback loop between the patient’s brain, muscles and the soft exosuit.”
Wearable tech
But accommodating this kind of mechanical flexibility isn’t easy.
“With
rigid robots, we can easily calculate joint angles and positions,”
Libby noted. “But soft robots have infinite degrees of freedom, making
modeling and control much more complex.”
We use deep learning models to track movement and estimate the shape of soft actuators in real-time,” she told the Technology Networks audience. “By
using nearby cameras and embedded physical sensors, we can better
control the robot’s response and improve safety for the user.”
The physical technology of the suit is produced via 3D printing.
“Traditional
fabrication is labor-intensive,” Libby noted. “But we’ve developed a
method to 3D print actuators with high tear strength and no air leaks.
This could help scale up production and bring these devices to more
patients.”
Her
team have also investigated how to reduce hysteresis, a phenomenon where
a soft actuator’s response differs depending on whether it is inflating
or deflating.
“We’re
looking at ways to optimize internal geometries so that the actuators
behave more predictably,” she explained. “This could improve their
effectiveness in rehabilitation.”
Now,
the team just needs to combine these optimized actuators with machine
learning and computer vision in one single prototype.
“We’re
working on fully integrating these technologies – soft actuators,
biosensors and machine learning – into a seamless rehabilitation
system,” Libby said.
Her long-term vision is a future where personalized rehabilitation robots are available to all who need them.
“Imagine
an elderly stroke patient having a soft exosuit at home that works with
them 12 hours a day, helping them regain mobility while their therapist
monitors progress remotely,” she told the Technology Networks audience. “That’s where we want to go.”
“Soft
robotics is still a young field,” she added. “But with
interdisciplinary collaboration and continued innovation, we can change
the way rehabilitation is done, giving patients a better chance at
recovery and independence.”
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