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It’s been a long while since we first saw Honda’s exoskeleton-like Walking Assist Device – 2008, in fact – but the first 100 units are finally strolling into broader service in Japan. 100 of the 2.6kg gadgets, which strap onto the legs and hips so as to help the wearer walk more steadily and with a longer stride, have been deployed as part of a loan program across Japanese hospitals.
In total, fifty hospitals will get to try out the Walking Assist Device, with each location getting two units: one medium (for hip widths of up to 340mm) and one large (for hip widths of up to 380mm). Each unit can run for more than an hour on a single charge, Honda says, with the 22.2V Li-Ion battery fitting into the control pack that sits at the small of the back.
Honda suggests the gadget can be useful for both indoor or outdoor walking, though it cautions against using the walker in the rain and on non-flat surfaces. So far, it’s been trialled on a small scale in seven different hospitals, where physiotherapists and doctors have apparently given the system a tentative thumbs-up.
Although it lacks the immediate geek-appeal of Honda’s ASIMO robot, the Walking Assist Device shares a big part of the robot’s intelligence. Both are based on the company’s studies into walking styles; in the case of the exoskeleton, a bevy of sensors are used to track hip-angles, and thus make sure the motors kick in as appropriate to help guide each step.
It’s not Honda’s only unusual transportation system we’ve seen over the past few years. Although the company is best known for its cars, it also keeps plugging away at more personal methods of getting around, including oddball designs like the UNI-CUB unicycle and the moto compo folding scooter.
VIA Engadget Chinese
Honda Walking Assist Device goes into broad hospital trial is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
May 28
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May 24
3D Printer Used To Save Baby’s Life
Posted in: Today's Chili
May 23
They say necessity is the mother of invention, and nowhere was it more necessary than in the case of Kaiba Gionfriddo’s life. The infant was born with a condition called tracheobronchomalacia that results in weakened support for the trachea, and his fate seemed all but decided until researchers at the University of Michigan proffered an unlikely solution: a 3D-printed tracheal splint. The splint was custom-made just for the child and designed to hold the trachea in place as the bronchus builds around it, giving it strength. In two to three years, the trachea will be able to stand on its own, and the polycaprolactone biomaterial used to create the splint will be absorbed into the body. After a successful operation, Kaiba was taken off ventilator support — and he hasn’t needed it since. From 3D-printed skull prosthetics to this recent innovation, it’s clear 3D printing has a far more noble future than just making pizza.
Via: Gizmodo
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
May 22
Real-life tricorder project, the Scanado Scout, has graduated to crowdfunding stage, with the DIY health monitoring tool looking to raise $100,000 and ship to backers by March 2014. The project, by startup Scanado, aims to turn a smartphone into a health tracking device – or “an Emergency Room in your pocket” – with a compact vital-sign reading puck that wirelessly communicates via low-power Bluetooth.
okay
The Scout concept was first shown off late last year, the handiwork of a team at the NASA Ames labs. Held to the forehead, it beams information – including heart rate, skin/core body temperature, oxymetry, respiratory rate, blood pressure, ECG, and emotional stress – over to an app on your phone.
That data, Scanado suggests, could be interesting to a wide range of people. By preempting health issues, it could mean avoiding periods of sickness (and cutting down on medical insurance bills) by treating conditions early; meanwhile, athletes could use Scout to monitor the effectiveness of their fitness regime.
Meanwhile, life-loggers who might be drawn to wearables like Fitbit Flex or Jawbone UP are also a target group for the firm. They’re expected to find the wealth of data – and historical tracking – to be particularly interesting.
As for hardware, full details aren’t specified yet, but there’s Bluetooth 4.0 and apps for Android and iOS. It recharges via microUSB, and Scanadu claims that it’ll last for around a week, if used “a few times a day.”
Of course, any medical-grade device hoping to reach the market in the US needs to get FDA approval, and that’s the stage Scanadu is up to. The company has kicked off an Indigogo campaign to raise $100,000, but also needs early-adopters who will agree to share their data so that it can be used in clinical studies to demonstrate effectiveness.
If it raises its goal amount – and that looks likely, given at time of writing it’s already over $40,000 in – the first units are expected to ship out to backers in March next year. Those in early can get one for $149; when it launches, it’s expected to retail at $199.
Update: As expected, the Scout has already passed its funding goal, with 31 days left to run. More than 50-percent of the $149 units have been taken at time of writing.
Scanadu Scout “Medical Tricorder” crowdsources testing for FDA is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
May 19
Medbox Dispenses Marijuana
Posted in: Today's ChiliWe did talk about Medbox during summer last year, where we mentioned that this is a marijuana vending machine which could potentially result in plenty of controversies where its existence is concerned. Well, nearly a year down the road, and […]
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