The IoT, Smart Prosthetics, Bioprinting & the Developing World

Matt Ratto of U of T’s iSchool with orthopaedic technologist Joyce Nakibirango at the CoRSU hospital in Uganda. Credit: ginger coons/Critical Making Courtesy of Phys.org. Once confined to the realm of science fiction, 3D printers have become part of the mainstream. These machines fabricate physical objects by melting and layering plastic through a nozzle. Users can create or download professionally designed plans and produce custom objects ranging from tree ornaments to prosthetic limbs. No one understands the process better than U of T’s Matt Ratto. This associate professor at the iSchool and director of the Semaphore Research Cluster researches the intersection of digital technologies and the physical world. U of T News talked to Ratto about how 3D printing will evolve, especially when combined with other contemporary technologies. Can you foresee a combination of 3D printing and the IoT ? We can now 3D-print objects that contain simple electronic circuits. As part of our research we’ve been working on the production of prosthetic braces and sockets that contain intrinsic pressure sensing circuits. The prosthetic device will then stream real-time information about the fit and comfort of the device directly to a mobile device, giving the patient or caregiver granular data over time about how the device is working. The ability to 3D-print “smart objects” is a really fascinating area of novel research. Article continued here: http://phys.org/news...
Source: Society for Participatory Medicine - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Learn Newsletter Source Type: news