From the shoulders to the elbows up to the feet: these are some of the robots for rehabilitation and prosthetics designed by researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Inail and the E. Piaggio Center of the University of Pisa, present at the Maker Faire Rome, from 25 to 27 October at the Gazometro Ostiense.
“Today we present the new version of FloatEvo, a rehabilitation exoskeleton for the upper limbs in which we have introduced many important improvements compared to the previous version”, said Matteo Laffranchi, of the IIT. It is a sort of robotic arm, developed with Inail, which is made to adhere to that of a patient to speed up and improve the rehabilitation process for shoulder or elbow problems.
Very sophisticated sensors and motors allow the patient not to perceive the weight of the exoskeleton, and thus perform movements that involve the whole body and at the same time have the freedom to move in a space of 3 square meters. A new version that has integrated many technological improvements and comments from users who have tested it over time at the Inail Motor Rehabilitation Center in Volterra, so as to arrive at a system that is easier to wear and adapts more easily to people’s characteristics.
Similar technologies are also the basis of SoftFoot Pro, but this time it is a foot prosthesis developed in collaboration with researchers at the Piaggio centre. A real implantable foot designed to adapt to irregular surfaces and ensure stability for the patient.
