OBJECTIVE To investigate patients' mobility and satisfaction with their lower limb prosthetic or orthotic device and related service delivery in Malawi and to compare groups of patients regarding type and level of device and demographics. METHODS Questionnaires were used to collect self-report data from 83 patients. RESULTS Ninety percent of prostheses or orthoses were in use by patients, b...

Low back pain is the leading cause of limited physical activity, affecting 80-85% of adults in their lifetime [1]. Development of low back pain can result from elevated, prolonged and/or repetitive forces on the spine, which commonly occur during daily activities such as leaning and lifting. Wearable assistive devices (e.g., exoskeletons) are emerging as a potential means of mitigating low back...

Wearable devices that o↵er special manual abilities are a mythical intercultural desire reflected in both traditional and modern narratives. Recently, the advent of wearable computers gave rise to new devices that augment practiced manual gestures and assist those in need through technological means. However there are still vast under-explored territories of bodily augmentation that are waiting...

Soft actuators made from elastomeric active materials can find widespread potential implementation in a variety of applications ranging from assistive wearable technologies targeted at biomedical rehabilitation or assistance with activities of daily living, bioinspired and biomimetic systems, to gripping and manipulating fragile objects, and adaptable locomotion. In this manuscript, we propose ...

One of the new clinical techniques to assess the lower body parameters is the wearable ultrasonic sensors. The device which can measure the static and dynamic balance abilities in sport and clinical setting by the traveled signals of ultrasonic transmitter and receiver between two feet was developed and validated. The new device consisted of a pressure gauge and a digital centimeter indicator a...

The work of fitting ceiling boards is one of the hardest in carpentry, as it requires large muscular power. Hence there is a need to develop assisting apparatus for such work. In order to use this apparatus anywhere a wearable robot is the most suitable. As the robot must be autonomous and lightweight, a design requiring low power is proposed. A semi-active control method has been developed usi...

Background If current trends continue, Ghana's aged population will increase in the coming decades. Currently, there is little knowledge on the health of the aged in Ghana. Research on vision problems among this group is virtually non-existent. This research gap needs to be filled immediately in order to promote the general health among older people in Ghana. Objective The objective of the stud...

abstract introduction: nowadays, the advanced technology of designing electronic circuits in very small size and with very low power consumption has led to development of wearable and implantable medical devices. however, the electronic circuits need power supply that is usually provided by relatively large and heavy batteries. the discharged batteries have to replaced or recharged for long tim...

In this paper a robotic assistive device is presented, aimed at assisting physically impaired individuals when rising from a sitting to a standing position. The robotic device is designed as a three degrees of freedom (3-DOF) mechanism supporting the subject under the buttocks. The device is driven by an electrohydraulic servosystem capable of operating in multiple control modes. It is instrume...

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there are 285 million visuallyimpaired people worldwide. Among these individuals, there are 39 million who are totally blind. There have been several systems designed to support visually-impaired people and to improve the quality of their lives. Unfortunately, most of these systems are limited in their capabilities. In this paper, we present a c...