The challenge: Impaired arm function can have a major impact on quality of life — something as simple as making a meal or dressing oneself can be hugely difficult if your arms are weakened by disease or injury.
We’ve seen wearable robots or exoskeletons that can help people with upper-body mobility issues, but they’re often expensive and awkward, which can make them less than ideal for everyday use at home.
Researchers at ETH Zurich’s Sensory Motor Systems Lab have now unveiled the Myoshirt, a soft robotic device that functions like wearable muscles for the upper body, increasing the wearer’s endurance.
The device consists of a chest harness and a cuff worn around the upper arm and forearm. Cables run from the cuff to a shoulder anchor and down to an external control box.
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Sensors embedded in the fabric detect motion. An algorithm uses that information to predict the wearer’s intended arm movement and trigger a motor in the control box to pull the cables. These act like artificial tendons, helping support the movement.
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The Myoshirt increased the endurance of all the participants, but the increase was particularly profound for the person with a spinal cord injury: 210%. For those without physical impairments, the average increase was 33%, and for the person with muscular dystrophy, it was 61%.
