Cyberdyne's therapeutic cyborg legs arrive in the US


While we're still a ways away from a proper Aliens-esque Power Loader, our enhanced exo-suit future is already upon us. The HAL (that's Hybrid Assistive Limb, not the murderous space AI) from medical device manufacturer, Cyberdyne Inc., has already been leveraged for a number of rehabilitative procedures since being released in Japan in 2011. Cyberdyne announced on Friday that it has teamed with the newly opened Brooks Cybernic Treatment Center of Jacksonville, Florida to make HALs available here in the US.

The HAL is designed to fit around a spinal injury patient's legs and abdomen, providing support for people who would otherwise be unable to stand or walk. But unlike other exo-suits, patients command the HAL with their minds. Instead of a joystick or other manual controller, the HAL uses an EEG-like sensor to pick up nerve signals from the patient's brain through their skin which it then translates into a command to engage the suit's legs. What's more, this method trains the user to activate specific neural pathways for voluntary movement, which helps them improve their ability to walk unassisted.

You will need at least some degree of sensation, however, for the treatment to work, Dr. Geneva Tonuzi, Medical Director of the Brooks Cybernic Treatment Center, told Engadget. "It doesn't have to be much, but there has to be at least that signal. If you do have enough [bioelectric signal] going through to where the surface EMGs that are put on the legs can pick up the signal, then the robot can basically do the rest."

"So what's really nice about [HAL], it basically operates off what your intentions is," she continued. "Maybe you're only able to give one or two percent, and then the robot gives the remainder of the motion. But, with time, because of that sort of recovery, you're about to get three percent, four percent, and so on, and the robot gives you less and less of that support."

"The goal is actually to get rid of the robot," Tonuzi concluded. "This is your intervention, and after a certain period of time, you just move on back to regular therapy."

via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2F9mg7S"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to...
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic...
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs? ...
Read more