2024-01-29 16:03:17
Foto: Shutterstock (imagen referencial)
Text: Editorial Cuba Noticias 360
The effectiveness of robotic hands for amputee patients, designed and created by scientists from Santiago de Cuba, was ratified after two pilot tests carried out at the Juan Bruno Zayas hospital in the eastern province.
The prostheses were created by a team from the University of Oriente and, according to the state-run Cuban News Agency (ACN), the tests were part of a follow-up to the treatment against Painful Shoulder Syndrome and Adhesive Capsulitis.
In a statement to the aforementioned media, the head professor of the academy in charge of the study, Roberto Sagaró, expanded that carrying out the pilot tests made it possible to demonstrate “the effectiveness of the robotic exoskeleton in the rehabilitation of upper limbs.”
The professor highlighted the creation of a device intended for hand amputee patients, whose electromyographic sensors for capturing signals from the remaining muscles have the purpose of executing desired movements and facilitating precise grip.
He also announced that the generalized results will be available next year, and thanked the joint work of the Department of Mechanics of the house of higher studies in eastern Cuba with the Federal University of Espíritu do Santo of Brazil for the creation of “an exoskeleton for lower limbs.” .
Regarding the robotic hands, Marcia Hernández, a specialist in the Physiotherapy room of the care unit, told ACN that the device designed to rehabilitate upper limbs speeds up the patient’s incorporation into daily work and recreational activities.
Regarding the results, the specialist described them as “encouraging” in the patients’ recovery. In addition, she highlighted the high impact on the reduction of physical-motor conditions, from the generalization of treatment in healthcare services.
Despite these advances, Cubans continue to denounce the critical health situation on the island. These medical devices seem unreal amid the lack of basic supplies such as syringes, gloves or the medications themselves.
However, the Cuban government highlights some “advances” that the country’s institutions and specialists are experiencing in this matter, some motivated by “ingenuity.” Such is the case of a prosthesis prototype for breast cancer patients designed last September by the Center for Clinical Engineering and Electromedicine (CICEM), in the province of Cienfuegos.
As was known on that date, the initiative was carried out due to “the difficulties in going to Havana and accessing the silicone implants distributed by the Alas por la Vida group, made up of female survivors of the disease.”
The creators of the prosthesis meant that they were more comfortable, weighed less, did not deteriorate in the heat and allowed various activities to be carried out without limitations.
The idea also arose from the large number of patients who attended the Cuban institution looking for help, in addition to the country’s difficulty in acquiring this type of prosthesis abroad.
To make it, sponges and silica gel bags were used as a support to prevent humidity, and poplin, a very fine fabric, usually made of cotton or silk, was used for the adjuster.
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