This study gives us hope that soft robotic wearable technology could aid in the development of new devices that can restore functional limb abilities in people with ALS.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), a neurodegenerative condition where the nerve cells that regulate movement in the brain and spinal cord are gradually destroyed, affects about 30,000 people in the United States.
In order to help people with ALS regain some upper body mobility, a group of researchers from Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have joined forces. The fabric-based prototype of the assistive device is powered by a wireless battery.
This study gives us hope that soft robotic wearable technology could aid in the development of new devices that can restore functional limb abilities in people with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other diseases that rob patients of their ability to move their limbs.
Conor Walsh, senior author of a Science Translational Medicine paper describing the group’s work, says, “This study gives us hope that soft robotic wearable technology might help us develop new devices capable of restoring functional limb abilities in people with ALS and other diseases that rob patients of their mobility.”
Walsh oversees the Harvard Biodesign Laboratory as the Paul A. Maeder Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SEAS.
The team created a sensor system that can potentially detect residual arm movement and calibrate the appropriate pressurization of a balloon actuator to move the person’s arm smoothly and naturally.
This sensor system will be incredibly useful for people with ALS. Tommaso Proietti, the study’s first author and a former postdoctoral research fellow in Walsh’s Lab at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, claims that “in essence, this technology is quite straightforward.
Basically, it’s a shirt with some inflatable actuators that resemble balloons under the armpit. The wearer’s upper arm and shoulders can move against gravity with the aid of the pressurized balloon.”
“Our vision is that these robots should function like apparel and be comfortable to wear for long periods of time,” Proietti continued. The team is investigating potential designs of assistive wearables, whose motions could be controlled by brain signals, in collaboration with MGH Neurologist Leigh Hochberg, Principal Investigator of the BrainGate Neural Interface System.
The researchers predict that one day, patients who have no remaining muscle activity could benefit from a device like this to help them move. Proietti asserts that the responses from the ALS study participants were profoundly moving, motivating, and inspirational. Even though this is still in the research stage, wearables as a whole are becoming more popular.