There's been a lot of research into how to give robots and prosthesis wearers a sense of touch, but it has focused largely on the hands. Now, researchers led by ETH Zurich want to restore sensory feedback for leg amputees, too. In a paper published i...
Many people remember seeing a painted portrait of Henry VIII holding a turkey leg in one hand. You might remember seeing it in a history book, in a museum, or on a slideshow presentation in history...
Running in minimalist shoes can increase leg and foot muscle volume, finds a new study.The researchers for the study recruited 38 runners with an average age of 35, who have been running for six...
Today on In Case You Missed It: LikeAGlove's new smart leggings that measure your body, then match you to the perfectly-fitted pair of jeans just went on pre-sale for $40. A new camera that reminds us of Lytro because of post-photo focusing abiliti...
Prosthetic legs typically go for severalthousands of dollars and stick out because of their robotic appearance. Industrial Design student William Root wanted to address both of those issues with his Exo concept. It’s a prosthetic leg that takes advantage of modern 3D modeling and printing technology.
In theory, production of the Exo would start out with a 3D scan of both the wearer’s remaining leg and the stump on the damaged leg to ensure a perfect fit. For the latter, William points to MIT’s FitSockettechnology, which analyzes the “properties of soft tissues in human limbs” to create a personalized prosthetic attachment model in “minutes instead of months.”
This is in contrast to current methods of making molds out of the wearer’s stump, and then casting, forming, fitting and making adjustments, a process that sometimes has to be done multiple times to get the fit right.
William thinks that Exo should be produced out of titanium powder using laser sintering. He chose a wire frame design not only to reduce materials and weight but because it looks beautiful as well.
Head to William’s Behance page to learn more about his concept. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Exo turns out to have biomechanical or medical flaws, but the idea of using 3D modeling and printing prosthetics has been proven in smallscales with prosthetichands and could be worth exploring further.
Perhaps taking inspiration from A Christmas Story, Redditor cit046286 has decorated her prosthetic leg by adding lights to it. She has used a prosthetic leg since her battle with bone cancer two years ago. She was diagnosed while she was deployed to Afghanistan.
Being the clever and creative person that she is, she stuffed lights inside the leg for a Christmas party. Now she has a super cool leg lamp. It’s a festive look, and it even comes in handy for more than just showing off – like when the power went out for 15 minutes during the party. Also it doesn’t look FRA-GEE-LAY.
I guess her leg can also double as a Festivus pole if she celebrates Festivus.
Schildi was a pet turtle living in Germany, presumably leading a happy life, gnawing on greens and taking forever to get anywhere as turtles do, but when he was abandoned, he lost a leg somehow. Luckily for Schildi, he was rescued, and vets were able to amputate his mangled limb. They replaced it with mankind’s solution for all things: LEGO.
Yes, this turtle now has a LEGO wheel in place of its front right leg. Because let’s face it, a shopping cart wheel just would have been annoying on everyone’s ears. The doctor used a special surgical glue to stick the base block underneath Schildi and then superglue to connect the corners of the block:
“After that we could add blocks to achieve the correct height,” he said. And now the single wheel has proven to be successful, Schildi has been taken back to the animal shelter. “We will see him again once in a while for check-ups,” Azmanis said. “If he gets a ‘flat tyre’ it will be a simple matter to replace the wheel. They move around quite a lot so I’d expect to see him for a new wheel about once a year.”
They should have put a LEGO castle on his back while they were at it. That would be awesome.
This clever gadget, called Activ, makes it possible to harness the kinetic energy created by your own body! The personal electricity generator was designed to be worn on the knee- with each step, it juices up the battery a little more. After it’s full, just attach a USB cord directly to Activ to power your cell phone or other device. Instead of plugging into the wall… plug into you!
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Dogs have long been touted as being man’s best friend. Aside from companionship, dogs can save human lives, depending on their training, by sniffing out bombs, transporting medicine (remember Balto?), and helping the blind ‘see.’ Given all the joy and help that dogs give humans, it’s only fitting that humans give back to them as well.
Take the case of Naki’o, an adorable dog that lost all four paws to frostbite when abandoned as a puppy.
Image Credit: Rick Wilking/Reuters
He did fine as a pup, but began having difficulty supporting his weight as he grew bigger. So his loving owner, Christie Pace, searched for alternatives to help Naki’o out. She explained: “I have a soft spot for rescue animals in general. I was looking for something different, unique. I wanted to make more of a difference than a regular dog. I knew I could help him out.”
Pace set up a fundraiser to get prosthetics for Naki’o from OrthoPets. But when the animal hospital saw how well the pup did with his initial fittings, they set him up with a complete set of prosthetics, free of charge.
Image Credit: Rick Wilking/Reuters
I guess you could say they have a heart of gold. Oh, and a little bit of trivia: Naki’o is the world’s first ever dog to be outfitted with custom prosthetics on all four legs!
It’s easy to take for granted little things like running on the beach & swimming. Murr-ma is a specialized prosthesis that extends these experiences to amputees or those with mobile disability. Inspired by the dorsal fin of the sailfish, the fins channel the water flow alongside the carbon fiber backbone & out at the sides, providing the wearer with the necessary thrust to move through the water. The split toe design also makes it possible to easily transition from sand to surf.
There's been a lot of research into how to give robots and prosthesis wearers a sense of touch, but it has focused largely on the hands. Now, researchers led by ETH Zurich want to restore sensory feedback for leg amputees, too. In a paper published i...
Today on In Case You Missed It: LikeAGlove's new smart leggings that measure your body, then match you to the perfectly-fitted pair of jeans just went on pre-sale for $40. A new camera that reminds us of Lytro because of post-photo focusing abiliti...
