An assistive robotic glove for those with hand disabilities

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/exo-glove-giphy-5.gif” thumb_width=”200″ /] There are many people who have lost hand mobility due to injury, stroke and other neurological conditions. Exoskeletons are a great idea, but for a small area far too bulky. At Seoul National University, research director Kyujin Cho and a group of SNU Biorobotics Lab students, working with disabled people, have developed the Exo-Glove Poly, a soft wearable robot ‘glove’ that is capable of grasping objects. Three soft, tactile fingers fit over the wearer’s thumb, index finger and middle finger, with a tendon-like routing system of wires connected to a motor which opens and closes the hand. It is waterproof, washable and reasonable looking. According to the article in AtlasoftheFuture.org, this assistive technology is scheduled for commercialization in late 2017. Exo-Glove Poly website. Hat tip to contributor Sarianne Gruber via LinkedIn.

Wearables for diabetes, more get thinner on a ‘smart skin’ diet

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BG-cuff.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]A team from the Seoul (South Korea) National University, University of Texas-Austin and wearable health sensor developer MC10 [TTA previous articles] have developed a translucent, thin graphene ‘cuff’ with sensors for blood glucose and a not-quite-complete metformin delivery mechanism for those with Type 2 diabetes. The graphene is ‘doped’ with gold to have it transmit blood glucose readings inferred on mechanical strain, skin temperature, and chemical composition of sweat. The mobile app calculates the metformin medication dose needed and the wristband administers it through an array of microneedles. This would not be a semi closed-loop system (dubbed here a ‘robopancreas’) which Type 1 diabetics now can use for insulin delivery, as there’s a delay in sensing and delivery. It also cannot in present form correct for excessively low blood glucose. IEEE Spectrum, Nature (abstract) Hat tip to former TTA Ireland Editor Toni Bunting

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-11-at-11.12.41-AM.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]Another wearable sensor bracelet with a distinctly ‘home-brewed’ feel is out of academia, from the Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s Integrated Nanotechnology Laboratory in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The research team pulled together office supplies–no, you are not misreading this: (more…)