Robotic Exoskeletons Offer Grip Strength to Those with Spinal Cord Injury
Imagine a day your grip strength deteriorates due to a spinal cord injury, and you lose the ability to hold and release objects. Now imagine a day where a robotic exoskeleton eliminates this ailment.
Tendo, the innovative design driven company, based in Lund, Sweden, offers artificial grip strength for those living with disabilities. This cutting-edge robotic exoskeleton creates an improved self-image for the individual, along with an improved quality of life for someone living with a spinal cord injury and reduced need of assistance from the community and family. Tendo’s device is worn practically like a glove and enables the wearer to have a strong grip in more or less all everyday situations.
Tendo is created for people, not symptoms
The robotic exoskeleton has been created by Tendo’s team, with a great passion and curiosity for innovation, technology and keeps the user in mind with an understanding of how a disability can affect the self-image.
The grip assisting exoskeleton, designed as a slim robotic glove, helps individuals with constraints in their grip strength, such as holding and releasing objects. During development, Tendo have made it possible for a paralysed individual to grab glasses and cutlery, therefore enabling them to eat and drink for the first time in years.
The product’s revolutionary sensor system gives the user full control, completely intuitively, without involving any buttons or covering pressure sensors.
5% of the western world suffers from a limited hand function
Approximately 5% of the western world population live with limited hand function and poor grip strength. By combining the best from design with innovative robotic technology, Tendo can facilitate people to regain their independence.
Although the product is still under development, the device is specially made for individuals who struggle with everyday activities due to conditions such as a spinal cord injury.
A spinal cord injury is damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal, which often causes permanent changes in strength, sensation, and other body functions – and Tendo’s first product version is made specifically for those with high spinal cord injuries.
Source: Shakera Halim, The Health Europa
Posted on April 17th, 2020 in Assistive Technology.