A Bio-Inspired Tensegrity Manipulator with Multi-DOF, Structurally Compliant Joints

Most traditional robotic mechanisms feature inelastic joints that are unable to robustly handle large deformations and off-axis moments. As a result, the applied loads are transferred rigidly throughout the entire structure. The disadvantage of this approach is that the exerted leverage is magnified at each subsequent joint possibly damaging the mechanism. In this paper, we present two lightweight, elastic, bio-inspired tensegrity robotics arms which mitigate this danger while improving their mechanism's functionality. Our solutions feature modular tensegrity structures that function similarly to the human elbow and the human shoulder when connected. Like their biological counterparts, the proposed robotic joints are flexible and comply with unanticipated forces. Both proposed structures have multiple passive degrees of freedom and four active degrees of freedom (two from the shoulder and two from the elbow). The structural advantages demonstrated by the joints in these manipulators illustrate a solution to the fundamental issue of elegantly handling off-axis compliance.Comment: IROS 201

CRUX: a Compliant Robotic Upper-Extremity eXosuit for Lightweight, Portable, Multi-DoF Muscular Augmentation

Wearable robots can potentially offer their users enhanced stability and strength. These augmentations are ideally designed to actuate harmoniously with the users movements and provide extra force as needed. The creation of such robots, however, is particularly challenging due to the complexity of the underlying human body. In this paper, we present a compliant, robotic exosuit for upper-extremities called CRUX. This exosuit, inspired by tensegrity models of the human arm, features a lightweight (1.3 kg), flexible design for portability. We also show how CRUX maintains full flexibility of the upper-extremities for its users while providing multi- DoF augmentative strength to the major muscles of the arm, as evident by tracking the heart rate of an individual exercising said arm. Exosuits such as CRUX may be useful in physical therapy and in extreme environments where users are expected to exert their bodies to the fullest extent

Blocking spinal CCR2 with AZ889 reversed hyperalgesia in a model of neuropathic pain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The CCR2/CCL2 system has been identified as a regulator in the pathogenesis of neuropathy-induced pain. However, CCR2 target validation in analgesia and the mechanism underlying antinociception produced by CCR2 antagonists remains poorly understood. In this study, <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>pharmacological approaches using a novel CCR2 antagonist, AZ889, strengthened the hypothesis of a CCR2 contribution to neuropathic pain and provided confidence over the possibilities to treat neuropathic pain with CCR2 antagonists.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We provided evidence that dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cells harvested from CCI animals responded to stimulation by CCL2 with a concentration-dependent calcium rise involving PLC-dependent internal stores. This response was associated with an increase in evoked neuronal action potentials suggesting these cells were sensitive to CCR2 signalling. Importantly, treatment with AZ889 abolished CCL2-evoked excitation confirming that this activity is CCR2-mediated. Neuronal and non-neuronal cells in the spinal cord were also excited by CCL2 applications indicating an important role of spinal CCR2 in neuropathic pain. We next showed that in vivo spinal intrathecal injection of AZ889 produced dose-dependent analgesia in CCI rats. Additionally, application of AZ889 to the exposed spinal cord inhibited evoked neuronal activity and confirmed that CCR2-mediated analgesia involved predominantly the spinal cord. Furthermore, AZ889 abolished NMDA-dependent wind-up of spinal withdrawal reflex pathway in neuropathic animals giving insight into the spinal mechanism underlying the analgesic properties of AZ889.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, this study strengthens the important role of CCR2 in neuropathic pain and highlights feasibility that interfering on this mechanism at the spinal level with a selective antagonist can provide new analgesia opportunities.</p

Sensitive detection of Cre-mediated recombination using droplet digital PCR reveals Tg(BGLAP-Cre) and Tg(DMP1-Cre) are active in multiple non-skeletal tissues

In humans, somatic activating mutations in PIK3CA are associated with skeletal overgrowth. In order to determine if activated PI3K signaling in bone cells causes overgrowth, we used Tg(BGLAP-Cre) and Tg(DMP1-Cre) mouse strains to somatically activate a disease-causing conditional Pik3ca allele (Pik3caH1047R) in osteoblasts and osteocytes. We observed Tg(BGLAP-Cre);Pik3caH1047R/+ offspring were born at the expected Mendelian frequency. However, these mice developed cutaneous lymphatic malformations and died before 7 weeks of age. In contrast, Tg(DMP1-Cre);Pik3caH1047R/+ offspring survived and had no cutaneous lymphatic malformations. Assuming that Cre-activity outside of the skeletal system accounted for the difference in phenotype between Tg(BGLAP-Cre);Pik3caH1047R/+ and Tg(DMP1-Cre);Pik3caH1047R/+ mice, we developed sensitive and specific droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays to search for and quantify rates of Tg(BGLAP-Cre)- and Tg(DMP1-Cre)-mediated recombination in non-skeletal tissues. We observed Tg(BGLAP-Cre)-mediated recombination in several tissues including skin, muscle, artery, and brain; two CNS locations, hippocampus and cerebellum, exhibited Cre-mediated recombination in >5% of cells. Tg(DMP1-Cre)-mediated recombination was also observed in muscle, artery, and brain. Although we cannot preclude that differences in phenotype between mice with Tg(BGLAP-Cre)- and Tg(DMP1-Cre)-mediated PIK3CA activation are due to Cre-recombination being induced at different stages of osteoblast differentiation, differences in recombination at non-skeletal sites are the more likely explanation. Since unanticipated sites of recombination can affect the interpretation of data from experiments involving conditional alleles, we recommend ddPCR as a good first step for assessing efficiency, leakiness, and off-targeting in experiments that employ Cre-mediated or Flp-mediated recombination

Accuracy and Usability of a Novel Algorithm for Detection of Irregular Pulse Using a Smartwatch Among Older Adults: Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is often paroxysmal and minimally symptomatic, hindering its diagnosis. Smartwatches may enhance AF care by facilitating long-term, noninvasive monitoring. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the accuracy and usability of arrhythmia discrimination using a smartwatch. METHODS: A total of 40 adults presenting to a cardiology clinic wore a smartwatch and Holter monitor and performed scripted movements to simulate activities of daily living (ADLs). Participants\u27 clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were abstracted from medical records. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing different domains of the device\u27s usability. Pulse recordings were analyzed blindly using a real-time realizable algorithm and compared with gold-standard Holter monitoring. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 71 (SD 8) years; most participants had AF risk factors and 23% (9/39) were in AF. About half of the participants owned smartphones, but none owned smartwatches. Participants wore the smartwatch for 42 (SD 14) min while generating motion noise to simulate ADLs. The algorithm determined 53 of the 314 30-second noise-free pulse segments as consistent with AF. Compared with the gold standard, the algorithm demonstrated excellent sensitivity (98.2%), specificity (98.1%), and accuracy (98.1%) for identifying irregular pulse. Two-thirds of participants considered the smartwatch highly usable. Younger age and prior cardioversion were associated with greater overall comfort and comfort with data privacy with using a smartwatch for rhythm monitoring, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A real-time realizable algorithm analyzing smartwatch pulse recordings demonstrated high accuracy for identifying pulse irregularities among older participants. Despite advanced age, lack of smartwatch familiarity, and high burden of comorbidities, participants found the smartwatch to be highly acceptable

Ground-State and Pairing-Vibrational Bands with Equal Quadrupole Collectivity in \u3csup\u3e124\u3c/sup\u3eXe

The nuclear structure of 124Xe has been investigated via measurements of the β+/EC decay of 124Cs with the 8πγ-ray spectrometer at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility. . . . For the remainder of this abstract, please visit: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.04432

Two-Neutron Transfer Reaction Mechanisms in \u3csup\u3e12\u3c/sup\u3eC(\u3csup\u3e6\u3c/sup\u3eHe, \u3csup\u3e4\u3c/sup\u3eHe) \u3csup\u3e14\u3c/sup\u3eC using a Realistic Three-Body \u3csup\u3e6\u3c/sup\u3eHe Model

The reaction mechanisms of the two-neutron transfer reaction 12C(6He,4He) have been studied at Elab=30 MeV at the TRIUMF ISAC-II facility using the Silicon Highly-segmented Array for Reactions and Coulex (SHARC) charged-particle detector array. Optical potential parameters have been extracted from the analysis of the elastic scattering angular distribution. The new potential has been applied to the study of the transfer angular distribution to the 2+2 8.32 MeV state in 14C, using a realistic three-body 6He model and advanced shell-model calculations for the carbon structure, allowing to calculate the relative contributions of the simultaneous and sequential two-neutron transfer. The reaction model provides a good description of the 30-MeV data set and shows that the simultaneous process is the dominant transfer mechanism. Sensitivity tests of optical potential parameters show that the final results can be considerably affected by the choice of optical potentials. A reanalysis of data measured previously at Elab=18 MeV, however, is not as well described by the same reaction model, suggesting that one needs to include higher-order effects in the reaction mechanism

The Design, Construction, and Evaluation of Crux: A Tensegrity-Inspired Compliant Robotic Upper-Extremity Exosuit

Stroke is a disease that directly affects millions of people each year globally. Stroke therapy is challenging; survivors of the disease often must complete challenging exercises in the hopes of regaining some of their lost mobility and flexibility. Due to the limitations of visiting expert physical therapists and completing impactful rehabilitation outside of their therapist’s office, this rehabilitation infrequently completely restores a survivor’s quality of life to what it was pre-stroke. One potential solution to this issue is an augmentative exosuit. Exosuits, unlike other traditional exoskeletons, are primarily composed of soft materials and feature flexibility and compliance at a structural level. In this thesis, we describe the inspiration, research, design, implementation, and user testing of one such exosuit for the upper-extremities, CRUX. This exosuit exemplifies the paradigms of tensegrity robotics through its use of a novel hybrid soft- rigid structure to augment the upper-extremities of those who wear it. The design of CRUX emphasizes a harmonious human-robot interface that augments users sufficiently for potential applications in Graded Motor Imagery and mirror therapy. As a result, CRUX may be able to assist physical therapists in providing stroke survivors and other people with upper-extremity impairment with better rehabilitation

The Design, Construction, and Evaluation of Crux: A Tensegrity-Inspired Compliant Robotic Upper-Extremity Exosuit

Stroke is a disease that directly affects millions of people each year globally. Stroke therapy is challenging; survivors of the disease often must complete challenging exercises in the hopes of regaining some of their lost mobility and flexibility. Due to the limitations of visiting expert physical therapists and completing impactful rehabilitation outside of their therapist’s office, this rehabilitation infrequently completely restores a survivor’s quality of life to what it was pre-stroke. One potential solution to this issue is an augmentative exosuit. Exosuits, unlike other traditional exoskeletons, are primarily composed of soft materials and feature flexibility and compliance at a structural level. In this thesis, we describe the inspiration, research, design, implementation, and user testing of one such exosuit for the upper-extremities, CRUX. This exosuit exemplifies the paradigms of tensegrity robotics through its use of a novel hybrid soft- rigid structure to augment the upper-extremities of those who wear it. The design of CRUX emphasizes a harmonious human-robot interface that augments users sufficiently for potential applications in Graded Motor Imagery and mirror therapy. As a result, CRUX may be able to assist physical therapists in providing stroke survivors and other people with upper-extremity impairment with better rehabilitation