Soft wearable rehab devices will act like artificial muscles
A new project based at the University of Bristol will develop soft, wearable rehab devices to help elderly and disabled people gain more mobility.
The research programme, known as FREEHAB, will see a range of soft materials and modern manufacturing methods used to create different products. Some of these devices will be used to aid physiotherapists in their assessments of patients’ movements, while others will be used by the patients themselves, helping them to stand up, for example. In those cases, the wearables will act like artificial muscles, powering mobility.
“There are over 10.8 million disabled people living in the UK today,” said project lead, Professor Jonathan Rossiter [Bristol Robotics Laboratory]. “Nearly 6.5 million have mobility impairments. These numbers are growing as the median population age increases and age-related mobility issues due to conditions such as arthritis and stroke become more prevalent.”
BRL Research: Soft Robotics
