October 12, 2016 at 11:43How technology is changing the quality of life: the development of smart prostheses based on ITMO University
Today in Russia the problem of prosthetics is quite acute. Of course, there are prostheses themselves, but they are most often represented by foreign analogues, Soviet models, or cosmetic prostheses. And all of these options have serious drawbacks, one of which - the price: The price of foreign devices can be up to 4 million rubles.
Prices for Russian models are more affordable, but they combine an outdated design, developed back in the mid-60s, and minimal convenience. In today's article, we will talk about how ITMO University graduates are changing Russian reality and creating prostheses and even exoskeletons for those for whom technology can literally change their lives for the better.
Ilya Chekh , a graduate of the Faculty of Precision Mechanics and Technology at ITMO University, together with his team founded the company “ Motorika ” to help children with hand injuries feel normal, play snowballs and just continue to develop actively. 3D printing technology extends the possibilities of prosthetics: reduces the cost of manufacturing prostheses, reduces the manufacturing time to several days and allows you to customize the prosthesis to the individual characteristics of the patient. All these advantages are used to create the KIBI children's traction prosthetic arm.
Children are a special category of patients, since replacement of prostheses is required for them every six months to a year, so the price is of great importance. The cost of one KIBI prosthesis is approximately 15,000 rubles. But today the prosthesis can be obtained even for free, since the certification obtained allows Motorika to distribute its innovative development under the state social program. Therefore, children living in the territory of the Russian Federation can become owners of an active prosthesis at the expense of the Social Insurance Fund.
Using 3D printing, each prosthesis is individually made by hand, so it can even be made for a brush with a complex injury. The only limitation is that the mobility of the wrist joint, due to which the grip is carried out, must be maintained in the child. Special traction cables provide mixing and alternate compression of the fingers and are fixed on the forearm on the supporting part of the prosthesis.
For the manufacture of the prosthesis base according to individual standards, a sintering method is used on a 3D printer, which makes the parts stronger and smoother. The receiving sleeve is made of low-temperature thermoplastics, which become flexible and take the desired shape in hot water, and traction cables are fixed individually. The plans are to produce typical prosthesis parts in large batches, and to print unique details that take into account the characteristics of the patient on a 3D printer.
The KIBI prosthesis is completely mechanical, but this does not make it uncomfortable. With it, children develop arm muscles and in the future will not be able to feel the effects of trauma. In addition, the Motoriki team tried to change the perception of the prosthesis by children, turning the prosthesis into a real gadgetwith a bright individual design: binoculars, a compass, a flashlight, a slingshot, an MP3 player, a GoPro camera and even a quadcopter control panel are built into a high-tech hand.
Motorika is also involved in the development of bionic prostheses . The main difference is that they can be controlled using your own nervous system by taking a muscle signal from your forearm. The team of Ilya Chekh plans to create the first domestic highly functional bionic prosthesis of the forearm and even a full arm. To date, there are several prototypes of such a brush prosthesis, and the most successful one has already been tested on the first user.
Another startup at ITMO University is the Rehabot project , the creators of which have developed a glove to restore fine motor skills after a stroke. The robot flexes and extends the fingers, which helps maintain muscle tone when the patient himself is not yet able to move it.
“Every year, around 7 million people in the world receive fine motor disorders as a result of a stroke. In Russia there are about 640 thousand. And only half of them return to work. Our robotic glove will help increase the number of patients with full recovery, ” explains one of the authors of the project, Vadim Kotenev.
In addition to the glove, developers use special software. Depending on the stage of treatment, the program offers a specific training regimen in a game form. For example, when the patient can already control his fingers a little, the program recommends exercises with resistance and resistance to increase efficiency.
The fingers are driven by the crank-slide mechanisms of electric motors, or actuators located on the back of the glove. The program analyzes the signals received from the sensors of muscle activity, determines the nature of the problems and offers the patient a suitable training regimen.
Similar products are being developed in Germany and Asia, but buying them in Russia is not easy, and one of the reasons is the high price (from 200-300 thousand rubles). According to preliminary estimates, the manufacture of one Rehabot glove will cost 25 thousand rubles. More than 70% of domestic components are already used in production, but manufacturers plan to find analogues of the remaining parts or start their production on metalworking machines and 3D printers (preferably also Russian).
The developers believe that to provide all the Russians in need of such gloves, it is necessary to produce about 120 thousand robotic gloves in the first year of mass production. Then, plans to enter the European market. Today the simulator's effectiveness has already been confirmed clinically, and its introduction in clinics of Russia began.
Another project created at ITMO University is Oriense . The development team has created a device that allows blind and visually impaired people to navigate in space, designed to increase their independence and social adaptation. 3D computer vision and global navigation technologies make life easier for the visually impaired.
Oriense consists of a forward-facing 3D camera, side cameras and a microcomputer. The device receives information and creates a “depth map”, on which the range of all surrounding objects is indicated using the color intensity of the objects.
The developers suggest using auxiliary devices for orientation in space: the OrNavi navigator and the OrCV camera. The complex of these devices offers various useful functions , for example, makes routes, describes the world around (buildings, institutions, intersections), warns of danger (road signs, holes, steps), reads various inscriptions and recognizes banknotes.
The prototype of the device was made on the basis of Kinect, later Israeli PrimeSense Carmine sensors began to be used in the development.
The multifunctional GPS / GLONASS navigator OrNavi does not require connection to mobile networks and works in stand-alone mode, thereby increasing battery life (in navigation mode - 20 hours, in camera use mode - 4 hours). Software and maps are updated regularly.
Interaction with the navigator is carried out through the physical keyboard on the principle of “one button - one function”, which facilitates the use of the device. Information is transmitted to the user through voice messages, sounds and vibration. At the same time, the developers propose to use bone conduction headphones, which leave the ears open, but make it possible to perceive information.
Another additional feature is a special extension for the OrCV navigator. It uses a camera that "looks" five meters ahead. The camera collects information about the environment, for example, recognizes especially dangerous objects and how to get around them, and makes moving around the streets safer. Therefore, when planning a trajectory of movement, visually impaired people no longer need to slow down.
Foreign analogues of the project - Voice Sense, I-21 systems and the AUX DECO device, require long training. Oriense has another competitor - the OrCam device, which is mounted on glasses for reading texts and recognizing color signals of traffic lights. But OrCam cannot be used by completely blind people and costs about $ 2.5 thousand. The cost of the Oriense navigator is 24 000 rubles, and the module with cameras - 15 000. Today, charitable foundations are engaged in its distribution, so people with vision problems can get devices at a discount or even for free.
Another development of a group of students at ITMO University, headed by Nikita Lipovich, is an active orthosis, which is attached to the knee joint and automatically bends, extends the leg, which helps to accelerate the rehabilitation of the motor functions of the knee of patients.
The device consists of a conventional passive orthosis and an active part, which is fixed on top of it to the knee joint. In fact, it is close to exoskeletons and is their small subspecies. “The active mechanical orthosis itself consists of a step drive, which is responsible for creating the torque transmitted to the developed drive, and a controller with sensors for the algorithm that makes the decision on bending and extension,” Nikita Lipovich describes his development.
The device can adaptfor any person with minimal settings thanks to the hybrid method for detecting the phase of the step and the angle of bending of the knee. Special sensors on the foot and mems-chips (accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer) allow you to predict when you need to control the drives of the orthosis.
The development cost excluding marketing costs will be about 45–48 thousand rubles. While the prototype is being developed, a part is already ready that is collecting information from the pressure sectors located on the foot, as well as various mems sensors, and a sample drive has been created, which is being finalized. In the near future, the first clinical trials will be conducted.
ITMO University is also exploring other technologies used to create exoskeletons and active prostheses. In particular, scientists from ITMO Universityinvestigate the possibilities of controlling such devices based on information on bioelectric potentials that arise in skeletal muscles upon excitation. Such information is obtained using electromyography, and signal analysis allows you to determine the movement planned by a person to actuate an exoskeleton or prosthesis. Therefore, the main thing is to correctly decipher the signal received from the muscles (to solve this problem, researchers use neural networks, which allows them to determine the type of movement with an accuracy of 94%).
Another studyformed the basis for the development of a multifunctional active hand prosthesis. The actuator of such a prosthesis contains 9 force sensors and an EEG signal recorder, the electrodes of which are connected to the operator’s head. The brush is controlled by processing the electroencephalograph signals, and the hand simulator allows you to take readings from the biosignal amplifier and visualize them. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to accurately determine the individual parameters of the hand and increase the accuracy of control.
The development of prosthetics technology helps not only extend the period of active life in people. Yuri Baulin, Leading Engineer, Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry Sechenov, natural science faculty of the University ITMO employee confidentthat modern technologies, including bionic prostheses, will be able to increase the lifetime itself up to 150-200 years. Of course, this will not happen soon, but humanity must continue to develop and defeat the disease.
Prices for Russian models are more affordable, but they combine an outdated design, developed back in the mid-60s, and minimal convenience. In today's article, we will talk about how ITMO University graduates are changing Russian reality and creating prostheses and even exoskeletons for those for whom technology can literally change their lives for the better.
Dentures for little superheroes
Ilya Chekh , a graduate of the Faculty of Precision Mechanics and Technology at ITMO University, together with his team founded the company “ Motorika ” to help children with hand injuries feel normal, play snowballs and just continue to develop actively. 3D printing technology extends the possibilities of prosthetics: reduces the cost of manufacturing prostheses, reduces the manufacturing time to several days and allows you to customize the prosthesis to the individual characteristics of the patient. All these advantages are used to create the KIBI children's traction prosthetic arm.
Children are a special category of patients, since replacement of prostheses is required for them every six months to a year, so the price is of great importance. The cost of one KIBI prosthesis is approximately 15,000 rubles. But today the prosthesis can be obtained even for free, since the certification obtained allows Motorika to distribute its innovative development under the state social program. Therefore, children living in the territory of the Russian Federation can become owners of an active prosthesis at the expense of the Social Insurance Fund.
Using 3D printing, each prosthesis is individually made by hand, so it can even be made for a brush with a complex injury. The only limitation is that the mobility of the wrist joint, due to which the grip is carried out, must be maintained in the child. Special traction cables provide mixing and alternate compression of the fingers and are fixed on the forearm on the supporting part of the prosthesis.
For the manufacture of the prosthesis base according to individual standards, a sintering method is used on a 3D printer, which makes the parts stronger and smoother. The receiving sleeve is made of low-temperature thermoplastics, which become flexible and take the desired shape in hot water, and traction cables are fixed individually. The plans are to produce typical prosthesis parts in large batches, and to print unique details that take into account the characteristics of the patient on a 3D printer.
The KIBI prosthesis is completely mechanical, but this does not make it uncomfortable. With it, children develop arm muscles and in the future will not be able to feel the effects of trauma. In addition, the Motoriki team tried to change the perception of the prosthesis by children, turning the prosthesis into a real gadgetwith a bright individual design: binoculars, a compass, a flashlight, a slingshot, an MP3 player, a GoPro camera and even a quadcopter control panel are built into a high-tech hand.
Motorika is also involved in the development of bionic prostheses . The main difference is that they can be controlled using your own nervous system by taking a muscle signal from your forearm. The team of Ilya Chekh plans to create the first domestic highly functional bionic prosthesis of the forearm and even a full arm. To date, there are several prototypes of such a brush prosthesis, and the most successful one has already been tested on the first user.
Rehabilitation Technologies
Another startup at ITMO University is the Rehabot project , the creators of which have developed a glove to restore fine motor skills after a stroke. The robot flexes and extends the fingers, which helps maintain muscle tone when the patient himself is not yet able to move it.
“Every year, around 7 million people in the world receive fine motor disorders as a result of a stroke. In Russia there are about 640 thousand. And only half of them return to work. Our robotic glove will help increase the number of patients with full recovery, ” explains one of the authors of the project, Vadim Kotenev.
In addition to the glove, developers use special software. Depending on the stage of treatment, the program offers a specific training regimen in a game form. For example, when the patient can already control his fingers a little, the program recommends exercises with resistance and resistance to increase efficiency.
The fingers are driven by the crank-slide mechanisms of electric motors, or actuators located on the back of the glove. The program analyzes the signals received from the sensors of muscle activity, determines the nature of the problems and offers the patient a suitable training regimen.
Similar products are being developed in Germany and Asia, but buying them in Russia is not easy, and one of the reasons is the high price (from 200-300 thousand rubles). According to preliminary estimates, the manufacture of one Rehabot glove will cost 25 thousand rubles. More than 70% of domestic components are already used in production, but manufacturers plan to find analogues of the remaining parts or start their production on metalworking machines and 3D printers (preferably also Russian).
The developers believe that to provide all the Russians in need of such gloves, it is necessary to produce about 120 thousand robotic gloves in the first year of mass production. Then, plans to enter the European market. Today the simulator's effectiveness has already been confirmed clinically, and its introduction in clinics of Russia began.
"Denture" for the blind
Another project created at ITMO University is Oriense . The development team has created a device that allows blind and visually impaired people to navigate in space, designed to increase their independence and social adaptation. 3D computer vision and global navigation technologies make life easier for the visually impaired.
Oriense consists of a forward-facing 3D camera, side cameras and a microcomputer. The device receives information and creates a “depth map”, on which the range of all surrounding objects is indicated using the color intensity of the objects.
The developers suggest using auxiliary devices for orientation in space: the OrNavi navigator and the OrCV camera. The complex of these devices offers various useful functions , for example, makes routes, describes the world around (buildings, institutions, intersections), warns of danger (road signs, holes, steps), reads various inscriptions and recognizes banknotes.
The prototype of the device was made on the basis of Kinect, later Israeli PrimeSense Carmine sensors began to be used in the development.
The multifunctional GPS / GLONASS navigator OrNavi does not require connection to mobile networks and works in stand-alone mode, thereby increasing battery life (in navigation mode - 20 hours, in camera use mode - 4 hours). Software and maps are updated regularly.
Interaction with the navigator is carried out through the physical keyboard on the principle of “one button - one function”, which facilitates the use of the device. Information is transmitted to the user through voice messages, sounds and vibration. At the same time, the developers propose to use bone conduction headphones, which leave the ears open, but make it possible to perceive information.
Another additional feature is a special extension for the OrCV navigator. It uses a camera that "looks" five meters ahead. The camera collects information about the environment, for example, recognizes especially dangerous objects and how to get around them, and makes moving around the streets safer. Therefore, when planning a trajectory of movement, visually impaired people no longer need to slow down.
Foreign analogues of the project - Voice Sense, I-21 systems and the AUX DECO device, require long training. Oriense has another competitor - the OrCam device, which is mounted on glasses for reading texts and recognizing color signals of traffic lights. But OrCam cannot be used by completely blind people and costs about $ 2.5 thousand. The cost of the Oriense navigator is 24 000 rubles, and the module with cameras - 15 000. Today, charitable foundations are engaged in its distribution, so people with vision problems can get devices at a discount or even for free.
Mini exoskeleton
Another development of a group of students at ITMO University, headed by Nikita Lipovich, is an active orthosis, which is attached to the knee joint and automatically bends, extends the leg, which helps to accelerate the rehabilitation of the motor functions of the knee of patients.
The device consists of a conventional passive orthosis and an active part, which is fixed on top of it to the knee joint. In fact, it is close to exoskeletons and is their small subspecies. “The active mechanical orthosis itself consists of a step drive, which is responsible for creating the torque transmitted to the developed drive, and a controller with sensors for the algorithm that makes the decision on bending and extension,” Nikita Lipovich describes his development.
The device can adaptfor any person with minimal settings thanks to the hybrid method for detecting the phase of the step and the angle of bending of the knee. Special sensors on the foot and mems-chips (accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer) allow you to predict when you need to control the drives of the orthosis.
The development cost excluding marketing costs will be about 45–48 thousand rubles. While the prototype is being developed, a part is already ready that is collecting information from the pressure sectors located on the foot, as well as various mems sensors, and a sample drive has been created, which is being finalized. In the near future, the first clinical trials will be conducted.
ITMO University is also exploring other technologies used to create exoskeletons and active prostheses. In particular, scientists from ITMO Universityinvestigate the possibilities of controlling such devices based on information on bioelectric potentials that arise in skeletal muscles upon excitation. Such information is obtained using electromyography, and signal analysis allows you to determine the movement planned by a person to actuate an exoskeleton or prosthesis. Therefore, the main thing is to correctly decipher the signal received from the muscles (to solve this problem, researchers use neural networks, which allows them to determine the type of movement with an accuracy of 94%).
Another studyformed the basis for the development of a multifunctional active hand prosthesis. The actuator of such a prosthesis contains 9 force sensors and an EEG signal recorder, the electrodes of which are connected to the operator’s head. The brush is controlled by processing the electroencephalograph signals, and the hand simulator allows you to take readings from the biosignal amplifier and visualize them. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to accurately determine the individual parameters of the hand and increase the accuracy of control.
The development of prosthetics technology helps not only extend the period of active life in people. Yuri Baulin, Leading Engineer, Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry Sechenov, natural science faculty of the University ITMO employee confidentthat modern technologies, including bionic prostheses, will be able to increase the lifetime itself up to 150-200 years. Of course, this will not happen soon, but humanity must continue to develop and defeat the disease.