David MHA
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- Sep 16, 2018
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One, of many new innovations in healthcare that is already making a major and significant impact and will unquestionably expand to become a vital innovation to Patient recovery, Rehabilitation, and Artificial Limb Replacement, is the field of Exoskeletal Robotics. In Japan, where robotics, in its current form of advancement in fluid fine motor skills, expertly mimics human dexterity.
Full-body Exoskeletal Robotics are already fully available and in use in Japan, also in Japan is a system in its final stages of development and testing, that will allow controlling the movements of the Exoskeletal Unit away from manual controls, to an integrated reactionary program that responds to brain wave patterns. The program will direct and activate movement in much the same way as the human biological functions of brain wave activation's. The applications for this innovation will rapidly become a critical part of medical pathways to normalize the mobility and physical abilities of injured and ambulatory related disease victims.
Not surprisingly, from the outset of the Exoskeletal unit’s development, the Military has been in the process of adapting and incorporating the technology, to move equipment and supplies, similar to the cargo loaders in the movie “Alien”, as well as, to outfit a form of Super-soldier. The inventor of the Japanese system of brainwave reactive Exoskeletal Robotics is Professor Sankai, a Systems and Engineering Department Head at the prominent Yoshiyuki University in Japan (Eisinger 2015)
In 2011, during his collaboration with the United States, Professor Sankai stated his observations concerning the barriers, to a more rapid pace of technology innovations in America. He stated that most advancements in science in the United States come at the hands of Military and Aerospace Researches, almost exclusively.
However, in the U.S. healthcare sector, plans for the expanded use of Exoskeletal Robotics are in the final development stages, for the use of “Assisted Rehabilitation” of muscles and limbs, which are at risk of atrophy, in addition to paralyzed Patients, to be able to walk again and regain independence (Geek 2014). Variations of these units are determined to cost from $10,000 to as much as $130,000 in the USA, with an average in Japan at $20,000 to $40,000 (Brewster 2016). Other applications in the Acute Care setting are being considered, for example, mixing, transporting and dispensing medication, and other repetitive labor-intensive tasks (Ryan 2017).
We are already utilizing robotics for assisted surgeries, which has been well-established for several years and is currently being refined progressively each year for expanded use in all areas of surgery. In addition, is the rapidly expanding use of remote guided telemedicine mobile units, in order to expand access to limited Specialty Care and to bring the high cost of Medical Care under control. The potential and application of robotics, using an exoskeletal structure and artificial intelligence to recreate human daily motor functions and labor activities, is both exciting and tremendous for the future, and astonishing for the present, in what it has already achieved. No longer the curiosity of Sci-fi imaginations, it is here, it works, and it is being perfected to be smaller, lighter, faster, stronger, and more capable in its abilities to mimic human functions, but better.
Brewster, S. (2016, February 1) Intelligent Machines - This $40,000 Robotic Exoskeleton Lets the Paralyzed
Geek, U. (2014, May 13) New Prosthetic Exoskeletons Allow Paralyzed People To Walk Again
Full-body Exoskeletal Robotics are already fully available and in use in Japan, also in Japan is a system in its final stages of development and testing, that will allow controlling the movements of the Exoskeletal Unit away from manual controls, to an integrated reactionary program that responds to brain wave patterns. The program will direct and activate movement in much the same way as the human biological functions of brain wave activation's. The applications for this innovation will rapidly become a critical part of medical pathways to normalize the mobility and physical abilities of injured and ambulatory related disease victims.
Not surprisingly, from the outset of the Exoskeletal unit’s development, the Military has been in the process of adapting and incorporating the technology, to move equipment and supplies, similar to the cargo loaders in the movie “Alien”, as well as, to outfit a form of Super-soldier. The inventor of the Japanese system of brainwave reactive Exoskeletal Robotics is Professor Sankai, a Systems and Engineering Department Head at the prominent Yoshiyuki University in Japan (Eisinger 2015)
In 2011, during his collaboration with the United States, Professor Sankai stated his observations concerning the barriers, to a more rapid pace of technology innovations in America. He stated that most advancements in science in the United States come at the hands of Military and Aerospace Researches, almost exclusively.
However, in the U.S. healthcare sector, plans for the expanded use of Exoskeletal Robotics are in the final development stages, for the use of “Assisted Rehabilitation” of muscles and limbs, which are at risk of atrophy, in addition to paralyzed Patients, to be able to walk again and regain independence (Geek 2014). Variations of these units are determined to cost from $10,000 to as much as $130,000 in the USA, with an average in Japan at $20,000 to $40,000 (Brewster 2016). Other applications in the Acute Care setting are being considered, for example, mixing, transporting and dispensing medication, and other repetitive labor-intensive tasks (Ryan 2017).
We are already utilizing robotics for assisted surgeries, which has been well-established for several years and is currently being refined progressively each year for expanded use in all areas of surgery. In addition, is the rapidly expanding use of remote guided telemedicine mobile units, in order to expand access to limited Specialty Care and to bring the high cost of Medical Care under control. The potential and application of robotics, using an exoskeletal structure and artificial intelligence to recreate human daily motor functions and labor activities, is both exciting and tremendous for the future, and astonishing for the present, in what it has already achieved. No longer the curiosity of Sci-fi imaginations, it is here, it works, and it is being perfected to be smaller, lighter, faster, stronger, and more capable in its abilities to mimic human functions, but better.
References
Brewster, S. (2016, February 1) Intelligent Machines - This $40,000 Robotic Exoskeleton Lets the Paralyzed
Walk
Eisinger, D. (2015, August 03) The Mechanical Exoskeleton Shaping the Future of HealthcareGeek, U. (2014, May 13) New Prosthetic Exoskeletons Allow Paralyzed People To Walk Again
