MEDICAL ROBOTICS
RAPUDA robot arm for wheelchairs
September 12, 2010 12:01 PM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Japan’s National Institute of Advances Industrial Science and Technology designed the RAPUDA, a wheelchair-arm robot that goes back to the basics of joystick-controlled assistance. Specifically designed for people with upper-limb disabilities, one at least has to be able to move a regular wheelchair joystick to operate the arm.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Robot Dental Patient Can Take My Place Anytime
April 21, 2010 03:08 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Three Japanese universities (Waseda, Kogakuin and Showa) and robot maker Tmsuk have developed Hanako, a robotic dental patient who can behave like a human patient (to some extent). The robot, who is supposed to be female, can converse with doctors while they operate.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Man controls cybernetic hand with thoughts
December 03, 2009 05:35 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
European scientists have successfully built a brain-controlled bionic hand that could be used to kill or maim hundreds of humans in the coming robot versus humans' civil war. Or, far more admirably, allow amputees to feel hand sensations and manipulate their limb--via the brain--as if it were still there. Video after the jump.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
NOELLE: The Pregnant Robot
November 30, 2009 04:09 PM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Take a deep breath. I'm pleased to announce the arrival of NOELLE™, a birthing simulator conceived by Gaumard Scientific Company. This medical simulator system, the product of long and difficult labor, is a "pregnant robot used in increasing numbers of medical schools and hospital maternity wards."

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
HeartWare Heart Pump Shows Positive Results
November 17, 2009 06:32 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
HeartWare, maker of an innovative left ventricular assist system, released results of a trial testing the survival rates in patients who've been implanted with the device. A study of the Framingham, Mass.-based firm's miniature heart pump shows a 90 percent survival rate six months after implantation.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Research Teams Successfully Operate Multiple Biomedical Robots From Numerous Locations
November 16, 2009 09:42 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Using a new software protocol called the Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol, nine research teams from universities and research institutes around the world recently collaborated on the first successful demonstration of multiple biomedical robots operated from different locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Robotic 'Smart Hand' has feelings
October 25, 2009 08:01 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Developed by researchers at Lund University in Sweden and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Italy, the Smart Hand project has given patient, Robin af Ekenstam (see video) the sense of touch in his new prosthesis hand.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
MIT researchers tout progress with retinal implant
September 24, 2009 06:11 PM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
MIT boffins have devised a method of fitting a chip on the end of the optical nerve which can be used to input electronic images directly into the brain without any need for an eyeball. The technique could offer blind people a degree of vision using head-mounted camera/sensor equipment.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Bloodbot automatically detects and withdraws your blood
September 14, 2009 11:00 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Bloodbot is tasked with taking blood samples from an area in the crease of the arm. Simple as that sounds, the Bloodbot’s biggest challenge is in finding a vein, since the pattern of veins varies across individuals.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Exoskeletons Are on the March
August 21, 2009 02:28 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
An army of exoskeletons is coming. And according to their inventor, Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai of the University of Tsukuba, in Japan, they’re making a difference in the lives of disabled people.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Tiny Telescopes Help the Blind See Again
July 20, 2009 07:40 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
The bionic eye's inexorable advance continued this weekend, as doctors reported they were able to implant tiny telescopes into the eyes of patients suffering from macular degeneration.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Robotic Therapy Holds Promise For Cerebral Palsy
July 02, 2009 02:39 PM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Over the past few years, MIT engineers have successfully tested robotic devices to help stroke patients learn to control their arms and legs. Now, they're building on that work to help children with cerebral palsy.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Next Generation of Ossur Power Knee in Action
April 23, 2009 08:43 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Ossur, a developer of prosthetic implants, announced that last week its second generation Power Knee bionic prosthesis was implanted in a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Power Knee uses sensor and actuators, coupled with artificial intelligence to better mimic natural walking with less effort by the patient.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
Scientists Watch Brain Networks Rewire Themselves
March 14, 2009 10:38 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics used an MRI machine to visualize how large parts of the brain automatically reorganize themselves through a process called long-term potentiation (LTP).

MEDICAL ROBOTICS
MAKO Introduces RIO Robotic Arm for Orthopedic Surgeries
February 25, 2009 04:49 AM EST - submitted by Daniel Shope
MAKO Surgical has announced the release of its RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System. The device is designed to assist surgeons during knee resurfacing operation, a minimally invasive type of surgery thought to be useful for younger, active patients with early osteoarthritis.