Exoskeletons: Robotic Structures Making Paralyzed People Walk Again
A paraplegic man made the first kick of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014; another paralyzed man was able to move all four of his limbs through mind-control, and yet another could walk down the aisle with the love of his life due to robotic structures called exoskeletons. These are just a few mind-blowing and heart-warming stories about their current power, but they haven’t reached their full potential yet. We looked around what exoskeleton technology can do today and what it promises for tomorrow.
Exoskeleton
becomes as real as a
donut
Remember
the huge mechanic beasts fighting against the indigenous people on moon Pandora
in Avatar?
Or what about Tom Cruise extending his powers by exosuits in The
Edge of Tomorrow or Matt Damon ‘getting a
way out’ by turning into a robotic structure himself in Elysium?
Science fiction movies fantasized about ways to give fragile humans more muscle
power, protection, and endurance through metallic solutions for years – until
they finally appeared in the form of exoskeletons.
These
are basically robotic structures that are attached to the joints in order to
substitute muscle power when it’s needed. The mobile frameworks contain a computer
in the backpack that can power the robotic components for hours. Their aim is
to provide back, shoulder, waist, and thigh support, sense the user’s motion,
and assist movement for lifting and holding heavy items while lowering back
stress. The first prototypes couldn’t really
mimic the wa...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Future of Medicine Robotics digital health exoskeleton science fiction technology exoskeletons rehabilitation paralyzed stroke injury spinal cord exoskeleton technology Source Type: blogs
More News: Accidents | Brain | Brazil Health | Cardiology | Child Development | Children | Computers | Databases & Libraries | Emergency Medicine | France Health | Health Insurance | Heart | HIV AIDS | Hospitals | Information Technology | Insurance | Italy Health | Japan Health | Jobs | Laboratory Medicine | Learning | Men | National Health Service (NHS) | Netherlands Health | Neurology | Neuroscience | Neurosurgery | Nurses | Nursing | Physiotherapy | Rehabilitation | Russia Health | Science | Spain Health | Spinal Cord Injury | Stroke | Students | Switzerland Health | UK Health | Universities & Medical Training | Urology & Nephrology