create a device that helps patients move their arms

by time news

In USAin the Harvard Universityhave developed a device that makes life easier for sick with ALS. It is a kind of vest that has an inflatable, located under the arm, and that help move it to perform everyday tasks, such as combing your hair or touching a key. It has already been tested on 10 patients, obtaining very positive results.

Specifically, this device has been created by a team of researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

The robotic vest to combat ALS

“This study gives hope that robotic wearable technology could help us to develop new devices capable of restoring the functional capacities of the extremities in people with SHE and other diseases that deprive patients of their mobility”, has expressed Conor Walshmain author of the article published in ‘Science Translational Medicine’.

“This technology is quite simple at its core,” he says. Tommaso Proietti, one of the paper’s authors and a former postdoctoral researcher in Walsh’s lab. “Basically, it’s a T-shirt with inflatable actuators under the armpit. The pressurized balloon helps the wearer to fight gravity to move the upper arm and shoulder”explains Proietti.

This is how the vest works

The vest has a sensor system that detects the residual movement of the arm and calibrates the adequate pressurization of the inflatable to move the person’s arm smoothly and naturally. This way, improves study participants’ range of motion, reduces muscle fatigue, and increases performance on tasks such as holding or reaching for objects.

In addition, it is a very easy device to handle. The ten patients who participated in the investigation took about 15 minutes in learning to use it. “These systems are also very secure because they are made of fabric and inflatable balloons, thus reducing the risk of injury,” adds Proietti.

Now, Harvard’s Office of Technology Development is exploring marketing opportunities and thus help those who suffer from this disease with a vest that, although it does not extend life, makes it much more comfortable.

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