I already said it on Tuesday. Today we have to write and read about OttoBock, a German medium-sized company that with a century of history has become a world reference in the field of prosthetics, and that is also innovating with artificial intelligence (AI) so that its products Learn from those people who have to carry a mechanical appendix because one of its limbs is missing. I had never heard of them, but thanks to the Bosch Connect World in Berlin I had the opportunity to meet them, and therefore to write these lines to show some of their creations.
Picking up a bottle and pouring a glass of water is an automatic gesture for most of us, but not for people with an arm amputation. Until now, in most cases users of a prosthesis had to consciously switch between different functions of the prosthesis by means of so-called co-contractions, the short simultaneous contractions of two muscle groups. Or they could also switch between functions manually. OttoBock’s Myo Plus is the first prosthetic control system in Europe with pattern detection, thanks to its use of artificial intelligence.
Movement pattern recognition
Thanks to eight electrodes, the prosthesis control system measures the movement patterns of the muscles in the stump of the forearm and assigns them to certain movements or grips of the hand. For example, tying your shoelaces or turning a doorknob. If a patient picks up a bottle of water, the control system of the Myo Plus prosthesis recognizes the corresponding movement pattern and sends the prosthesis the command to execute the corresponding grip or turn, and all this automatically.
After a first fitting carried out by an orthopedic technician, the patient can control the prosthesis control system himself using an application. The application visualizes the measured movement patterns, and in this way the patient can train how to unconsciously activate these patterns with greater precision. The first training to use the new control system lasts a few days, always depending on the patient, but the biggest challenge is the similarity of different patterns, since many hand movements only differ in small details . Myo Plus recognizes a wide variety of patterns and assigns them correctly. As soon as communication is established between the user and the prosthesis control system, the user can save the progress with the application and thus carry out the readjustments himself.
Applications in the world of work
Myo Plus was not the only item that caught my attention from OttoBock. I also got to see Paexo in Berlin, an exoskeleton that helps employees in production lines and in sectors such as commercial, during strenuous activities, to maintain an ergonomic posture. The purpose of this device is to provide relief for people performing physically demanding tasks, such as overhead work, thereby creating healthier working conditions.
The exoskeleton, according to the German company, was designed for use in industrial applications, such as in car manufacturers, aircraft hangars and shipyards, commercial companies or logistics companies. Workers wear Paexo close to their body, similar to a backpack, and when they raise their arms the forearm pads transfer this weight to their hips thanks to mechanical cable pull technology. This provides noticeable relief for the muscles and joints in the shoulder region. The device thus reduces critical physical stress during work, which could reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the shoulder region in the long term. These disorders are the most common cause of inability to work in Germany and Europe and therefore a significant cost factor for businesses and healthcare systems.
Paexo is a passive exoskeleton that does not require a power supply, which makes it especially light with a weight of less than two kilograms. Its design is based on natural human movements, so users can walk, sit, and also pick up objects with it on the body. It can be worn comfortably for more than eight hours and provides noticeable relief to the shoulders and arms during overhead work.
These types of devices and innovations are why, from now on, we should not talk about the Internet of Things, but about the Internet of People. Only if they help improve people’s quality of life will it make sense to develop and evolve them.
