RoboArms for MS

[Marco]

Researchers say a wearable robot they have created, which acts like an external layer of muscles, could potentially help millions of muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke patients regain lost movement. Many such patients often struggle to lift or carry items, due to chronic weakness in their arm muscles. In lab-based tests Myoshirt increased the lifting endurance of a patient with muscular dystrophy, and another with a spinal cord injury, by up to 600 percent. Its creators at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zurich) believe the prototype device could be ready for the market within two years. The Myoshirt is a soft, wearable exomuscle worn like a corset, with cuffs for the upper arms. Sensors embedded in the fabric attached to a control box use an algorithm to detect the wearer's intentional movements and the amount of force required to make it. Lead researcher Michele Xiloyannis told CGTN Europe: "This corset is attached to the person's trunk (torso). Two anchor points, at the upper and lower arm, are connected by artificial tendons which behave exactly like biological tendons, but driven by electric motors instead of our muscles." Wearing the device, Xiloyannis demonstrated how it works. "Myoshirt has the intelligence to understand the movements that I'm making and follow them. I don't feel restricted by the robot, which is synchronized with my movements. Patients can move freely and naturally as they would without the robot, but receive additional assistance, with their biological muscles needing to do much less work." https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2022-07...IKc/index.html

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Researchers say a wearable robot they have created, which acts like an external layer of muscles, could potentially help millions of muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke patients regain lost movement. Many such patients often struggle to lift or carry items, due to chronic weakness in their arm muscles. In lab-based tests Myoshirt increased the lifting endurance of a patient with muscular dystrophy, and another with a spinal cord injury, by up to 600 percent. Its creators at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zurich) believe the prototype device could be ready for the market within two years. The Myoshirt is a soft, wearable exomuscle worn like a corset, with cuffs for the upper arms. Sensors embedded in the fabric attached to a control box use an algorithm to detect the wearer's intentional movements and the amount of force required to make it. Lead researcher Michele Xiloyannis told CGTN Europe: "This corset is attached to the person's trunk (torso). Two anchor points, at the upper and lower arm, are connected by artificial tendons which behave exactly like biological tendons, but driven by electric motors instead of our muscles." Wearing the device, Xiloyannis demonstrated how it works. "Myoshirt has the intelligence to understand the movements that I'm making and follow them. I don't feel restricted by the robot, which is synchronized with my movements. Patients can move freely and naturally as they would without the robot, but receive additional assistance, with their biological muscles needing to do much less work." https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2022-07...IKc/index.html

Love that the weight, wearability and affordability appear within reach.

Something this flexible would allow people to stay in their homes longer if I understand the article. Thanks again Marco!

[pennstater]

Amazing. As someone who has right arm pain/weakness, should it progress more this gives me a lot of hope.

[palmtree]

It’s great. I’ve lost the strength in my hands and can’t even turn the ignition on my car.

Now, if only they could come up with something that can substitute human fine motor coordination in the hands. That has become the biggest disability for me.