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Apr 01 2008

ReWalk Exoskeleton

Published by admin under Healthy

 

Another day, another exoskeleton. Designed to help paraplegics to walk again, ReWalk™ is the product of Israeli company Argo Medical Technologies, Ltd. Massachusetts based SolidWorks Corp, whose 3D CAD software was used to develop the device, is reporting about the exoskeleton:

An innovative alternative to wheelchairs designed in SolidWorks® 3D CAD software lets paralyzed people do what was previously considered impossible: stand, walk, and climb stairs.Designed by Israeli consultancy Taga for medical device company Argo Medical Technologies, Ltd., the ReWalk exoskeleton is a light, wearable brace support suit featuring DC motors at the joints, rechargeable batteries, an array of sensors, and a computer-based control system. Users wear a backpack device and braces on their legs, and select the activity they want from a remote control. A sensor on the chest determines the torso’s angle and guides the legs to move forward or backward to maintain balance.

“There are a lot of challenges to design something that imitates a human walking, including universal fit for a broad range of user height and weight measurements, as well as a low profile that is both contemporary and user friendly,” said Assaf Barel, design engineer at Taga. “SolidWorks enabled us to be creative in addressing all of these challenges. The finished product is strong, compact, lightweight, and works like a human body.”

Taga standardized on SolidWorks for all new product development, including a range of medical, consumer, and equipment products for customers like General Electric, Phillips, and Comverse. Taga used SolidWorks to design the ReWalk based on a rough prototype from its inventor, Dr. Amit Goffer. SolidWorks gave engineers the time and capability to discover innovative approaches to translating the original prototype into a working model.

SolidWorks simplified design iterations and helped ensure accuracy as engineers constantly refined concepts to accommodate variables such as leg brace length, joint angle range, and the amount of pressure the joints can withstand. SolidWorks’ mass properties functionality enabled Taga engineers to see exact weight calculations as they designed the exoskeleton to be light enough to maneuver. COSMOSXpress™ allowed engineers to test the strength and durability of different load-bearing components to ensure the exoskeleton would hold up when users bend, stand up, and climb stairs.

All of Taga’s subcontractors use SolidWorks software, which, along with eDrawings® e-mail-enabled design communication tool, makes collaboration easy and smooth. Having teams work on native file formats also reduces costly and time-consuming errors.

The ReWalk exoskeleton is currently undergoing clinical trials. Taga expects it to be ready for general availability in 2009.

 

 

 

 

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Ultrasound Toothbrush
A new toothbrush Ultreo features new technology that different than anything else you ever had in your mouth: It all began in 2003, when the UW's Pierre Mourad met local entrepreneur Jack Gallagher for a steak lunch. Mourad, a research scientist in APL's Center for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound and research associate professor in the UW's Department of Neurological Surgery, was using high-frequency pulses to deliver drugs to brain tissue and to diagnose pain. Mourad sought an investor for a medical company. Gallagher, who helped launch the Sonicare toothbrush, had another idea: He wanted to build a better toothbrush. Mourad began tinkering in the lab. He knew that ultrasound, already used in high-pressure professional dental cleanings, could clean teeth. The technique works because ultrasound is the right frequency to vibrate bubbles. As the bubbles vibrate more than 20,000 times per second, they move the surrounding fluid, creating thin layers of water that sweep off the plaque. Previous attempts to create a consumer-grade ultrasonic toothbrush had failed. Ultrasound travels much better in water than in air, and directing the pulses was a challenge. Mourad believed he could do better. "It helped that I had a lab filled with gizmos," he said. "We can build anything at APL." The lab's engineers inserted a transducer, a machine that turns electric pulses into mechanical pulses, into the head of the toothbrush. Then they built a rubber waveguide to direct those pulses to the edge of the bristles. The prototype was a toothbrush connected to a rack holding about 100 pounds of equipment, including a 150-Watt amplifier. Everyone left the room before Mourad tried brushing for the first time. He survived, and a toothbrush was born. After the physicists had settled on a basic design, the project moved to the School of Dentistry. "There have been toothbrushes that tried to use ultrasound," said Frank Roberts, an associate professor of periodontics. "But they haven't been very effective. It took people that knew a lot about ultrasound to do it well." Dental researchers studied what frequency and intensity of ultrasound would be best to remove plaque and preserve gum health. In the lab, they coated artificial teeth with brightly colored plaque to compare results using different settings. Ultreo directs ultrasonic energy toward the bristle tips, which also vibrate but at slower, sonic frequencies. Lab tests showed that adding ultrasound cleared plaque from grooved surfaces better than using a traditional power brush. "The addition of the ultrasonic to the power toothbrush was able to remove more plaque from places the bristles didn't reach," Roberts said. "I've been impressed with it. [...]