Wednesday, June 8, 2016 – 21:39 CEST
Researchers at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in Madrid yesterday presented the first world exoskeleton aimed at children with spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative disease that affects one in Spain in 10,000 babies. The device, 12 kilos of weight and made from aluminum and titanium, is designed to help the patient to walk, in some cases for the first time. It will also be used in hospitals as muscle training therapy to avoid side effects associated with the loss of mobility.
The structure consists of a long supports, called orthotics, to adjust and adapt to the legs and trunk of the child. In the joints, a number of engines mimic human muscle function and provide the child lacks the strength to stand and walk. The system is completed by a series of sensors, a motion controller and a battery with five hours of battery life. The technology, which has already been patented and licensed by the CSIC and technology-based company Marsi Bionics, is in preclinical phase.
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the project coordinator Elena García, researcher at the center for Automation and Robotics, a joint CSIC and the Polytechnic University of Madrid, explained that “the device could be on the market within a year and a half” if it has the “necessary funding”, which involves 50,000 euros just for the prototype. A construction on an industrial scale would lower the price to 30,000 euros per unit. “The idea is to offer rented to families for about 800 euros a month,” he added.
“The main difficulty in developing this type of pediatric exoskeletons is that the symptoms of neuromuscular diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy, vary over time as both joints throughout the body. Our model includes intelligent joint stiffness modifying automatically and adapt to the symptoms of each child at all times, “he explained the researcher.
ÁLVARO EXPERIENCE / the existence of five engines in each leg, which involves placing a minimum length, and difficulty controlling the behavior and cooperation of younger children has led researchers have to put a minimum age limit.
Alvaro, a five year old Spaniard who will use it at home for a year, attended the presentation of the exoskeleton and explained that “good” it feels. And he confided to use it to play football and basketball, because now you can only move in a wheelchair. “The first time I put him up told me, ‘Mom, I’m right’, and when he began to take his first steps, for he was an absolute happiness. But you need to get funding for continued research and get that all children can walk, “said the mother of the child.
The project, funded by the Ministry of Economy and the European Union, is being carried out with the collaboration of doctors at Children’s Hospital San Juan de Dios de Barcelona and the University Hospital Ramon y Cajal in Madrid. Both centers have their own preclinical trials with the use of the exoskeleton in patients.
Source elperiodico.cat
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