Designing Origami-Adapted Deployable Modules for Soft Continuum Arms

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. Origami has several attractive attributes including deployability and portability which have been extensively adapted in designs of robotic devices. Drawing inspiration from foldable origami structures, this paper presents an engineering design process for fast making deployable modules of soft continuum arms. The process is illustrated with an example which adapts a modified accordion fold pattern to a lightweight deployable module. Kinematic models of the four-sided Accordion fold pattern is explored in terms of mechanism theory. Taking account of both the kinematic model and the materials selection, a 2D flat sheet model of the four-sided Accordion fold pattern is obtained for 3D printing. Following the design process, the deployable module is then fabricated by laminating 3D printed origami skeleton and flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) coated fabric. Preliminary tests of the prototype shown that the folding motion are enabled mainly by the flexible fabric between the gaps of thick panels of the origami skeleton and matches the kinematic analysis. The proposed approach has advantages of quick scaling dimensions, cost effective and fast fabricating thus allowing adaptive design according to specific demands of various tasks

Exercise therapy in Type 2 diabetes

Structured exercise is considered an important cornerstone to achieve good glycemic control and improve cardiovascular risk profile in Type 2 diabetes. Current clinical guidelines acknowledge the therapeutic strength of exercise intervention. This paper reviews the wide pathophysiological problems associated with Type 2 diabetes and discusses the benefits of exercise therapy on phenotype characteristics, glycemic control and cardiovascular risk profile in Type 2 diabetes patients. Based on the currently available literature, it is concluded that Type 2 diabetes patients should be stimulated to participate in specifically designed exercise intervention programs. More attention should be paid to cardiovascular and musculoskeletal deconditioning as well as motivational factors to improve long-term treatment adherence and clinical efficacy. More clinical research is warranted to establish the efficacy of exercise intervention in a more differentiated approach for Type 2 diabetes subpopulations within different stages of the disease and various levels of co-morbidity

Re-amputation occurrence in the diabetic population in South Wales, UK

The incidence of re-amputation following lower extremity amputations (LEA) among the diabetic patients referred to the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centers (ALAC) in South Wales, UK, was investigated. Manual and electronic data-gathering systems were used to extract the medical records of 473 people with various causes of LEA referred to the ALAC in South Wales during 2001–2003. The data included demographic information, causes of amputation and occurrence of various levels of re-amputation. Two hundred and five subjects with diabetes underwent 316 amputations, 44 were foot amputations and 272 major amputations on the ipsilateral and contra-lateral sides. Of the diabetic patients, 45·9% with single LEA underwent re-amputations with 22% incidence of contra-lateral LEA within 2 years. In comparison, 15% underwent re-amputations in the non diabetic dysvascular patients. Ipsilateral re-amputations occurred much earlier (average 21 weeks) compared with the contra-lateral amputations which took an average of 82 weeks following the first amputation. Nearly half of the diabetic patients with single LEA referred for rehabilitation underwent re-amputations within 2 years; out of which 22% of the patients underwent contra-lateral LEA. Although the progression of level of amputations does not follow a particular pattern, re-amputation on the contra-lateral side occurred almost four times later than that on the ipsilateral side