Tag Archives: Rehabilitation

This stretchy Japanese rubber gear helps people relearn to walk after incident

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Walking is one of those things that we usually take for granted until such time when you have an accident or incident that forces you to re-learn how to walk. Going through physical therapy and rehabilitation may take some time and can be a pain but fortunately, through technology and innovation, there are now tools that you can use to help you in your journey.

Designer: Yoshihiro Yamada

Futto is wearable rubber gear that may look a bit weird for the uninitiated since you seem like you’r wearing some sort of leather contraption. But it’s actually wearable rubber gear that can help your muscles relearn to walk after an injury or even for the elderly. It “replaces” the muscles that you use for walking and strengthens the weak points that may need some support, as guided by a specialist like a phsyiotherapist. It is not a replacement for rehab exercises but it will be able to help strengthen your walking muscles.

The gear is made up of an abdominal belt and then four rubber straps (two straps on each leg) that can be worn on each leg. The front one is hooked under your toes while the back one is for the sole of your feet. Once you wear it on your waist, legs, and feet and you start walking, the bands will contract on all sides to support you. The device is able to “straighten” your posture due to the abdominal pressure from the corset while the rubber is able to stabilize the lower limbs and stretch the spine.

Futto weighs just 280 grams so it will not be so heavy as you wear it. It is supposed to be worn outside of your leggings or pants (although the latter seems to be more comfortable) so it can seem weird if taken out of context. But if it’s something you need to help you recover from an injury or incident, you wouldn’t mind that at all.

The post This stretchy Japanese rubber gear helps people relearn to walk after incident first appeared on Yanko Design.

This playful physiotherapy device ensures timely healing of not so obvious hand and wrist injuries

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A playful yet effective device to rehabilitate post tennis elbow surgery or prevent the chances of such injury by providing physiotherapy in the right manner for timely healing.

Hand or wrist injuries can seem ignorable at most times but they can have major repercussions if left unattended. More so for people who are involved in athletic activities, or young adults who don’t take much notice of things. Even if such injuries are properly tended to, the post-recovery phase is very important to ensure no future problems prop-up, especially in the later stages of life.

Designer: Abel Szabo

Designer Abel Szabo zooms in on the problem of wrist injuries to create a rehabilitation product that eases the user through the process of strengthening the muscle and tissues. Dubbed Fanny, this wrist rehabilitation medical accessory is specifically designed for people in the process of recovering from a nagging wrist or hand injury, or ones who keep suffering the same injury due to negligence in the past. Abel also seeks to devise a practical solution for people who either develop tennis elbow or are susceptible to developing it in the future due to the repetitive nature of their task.

Individuals who are professional painters, plumbers, carpenters or chefs could highly benefit from such a device. Not to forget professional sportsmen who repetitively use their hands or wrist for sporting activities. Tennis elbow is a looming threat for all of them, and those who unfortunately have already got it, need to treat the problem. Whether it is a surgical or non-surgical procedure, physiotherapy is inevitable after the requirement. Fanny works by actuating the radial and ulnar rotation which are the most vital types of movement in the purview of such injuries. The device assists in rehabilitation by accelerating the healing time.

Fanny is designed keeping in mind the radial and ulnar deviations by extensively researching the position of hand and wrist that would most likely respond to any movement. This explains the peculiar shape of the device that rotates along the axis, moving along the rail track in tandem with the damaged joint. This employs the right amount of clamping force while making it easy to grasp the device, and most of all it’s playful in nature. The handrail for both fingers makes it the right ergonomic accessory to explore while being healed in far lesser time than usual.

The post This playful physiotherapy device ensures timely healing of not so obvious hand and wrist injuries first appeared on Yanko Design.

This wearable assistive device designed to help stroke patients relearn muscle movements is modular and adaptable!

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Rehap is a wearable, assistive device designed for stroke survivors to exercise mirror movements, and joint exercises during the recovery process and relearning of basic muscle movements.

Rehabilitative and assistive product designs have made some progress in terms of functionality and accessibility in recent years, but the current need for at-home rehabilitative designs cannot be understated. While physical therapy is recommended for anyone who’d like to restore their natural mobility, stroke patients in particular benefit from a tailored rehabilitative program. Rehap from Ka Man Choi is a wearable rehabilitative tool designed to aid stroke survivors in relearning basic muscle movements even in the comfort of their own homes.

During the research period for Rehap, Choi learned that around 1 in 3 stroke survivors experience varying levels of emotional stress following their stroke. During the recovery period, rehabilitative tools and assistive devices help stroke survivors train the affected limb and their own muscle memory to prevent stiffness and maintain circulation.

Choi integrated physical therapeutic exercises in Rehap like mirror movements and joint exercises to help stimulate the muscle memory of stroke patients. Stroke survivors wear Rehap as a sleeve or glove and configure the product’s modular gears with rubber bands to meet their level of recovery. Conceived to make rehabilitation more accessible, Rehap is also a less costly recovery option for stroke patients.

Developed out of a single material for simple production and recyclability, Rehap is a motorless, modular solution that’s easy to reproduce and intuitive by design. Accessible for stroke patients at all levels of recovery, Rehap comes with interchangeable gears that can be swapped out to adapt to three different rehabilitative levels. The needs and progress of the patients change over time and Choi designed Rehap to meet patients where they are in their recovery process.

Designer: Ka Man Choi

Choi designed Rehap to be a sustainable and accessible solution for stroke patients to relearn basic muscle movements. 

Following an involved research period, Choi optimized the design to be adjustable and universal.

“Unlike most of the existing rehabilitation and assistive tools, without any electronics and screws, the single prints of REHAP are easier for recycling the PLA.”

“After research on the target user – stroke patients and discussion with the expert in assistive technologies, I decided to design a rehabilitation tool attached to the human body inspired by the exoskeleton and body coordination.”

This hip-hugging exosuit uses AI to make walking and running easier

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Robotic devices have been used to help people walk or run in rehabilitation settings, but until now, they've been tethered and limited to a single action, like walking or running. In a paper published in Science today, a team of researchers explain h...

Xbox Adaptive Controllers will be used for veteran therapy

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The Xbox Adaptive Controller might just become an important tool for some US military veterans. Microsoft and the Department of Veterans Affairs have formed a partnership that will donate controllers, consoles, games and adaptive gear to 22 Veterans...

China uses VR eye tracking to gauge success of drug rehab

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China's rehab centers are no strangers to using technology to treat addiction. The latest approach, however, is rather unusual. Shanghai drug rehab facilities (not pictured here) are trialing a combination of VR, eye tracking and skin sensors to both...

Bobbi Kristina Brown moved to Rehab from Emory Hospital

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Bobbi Kristina Brown has recently been moved to a rehabilitation facility from the Georgia hospital. She has been at the hospital for nearly two months and she was getting treatment there, a source...