IMPLANTABLE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM FOR ADVANCED PROSTHETIC CONTROL

The Implantable Myoelectric Sensor (IMES) system transmits localized myoelectric signals simultaneously from multiple muscle sources, and is integrated into prosthetic systems to control electromechanical prosthetic devices. The IMES implants detect myoelectric signals generated by residual muscles of an amputated limb that are still under control of the brain. These signals are wirelessly transmitted to an external processor that controls the movement of a prosthetic device. Control can be intuitive by assigning the muscle’s signal to a prosthetic function that correlates with the hand function that muscle provided prior to its amputation.

The IMES are tiny implants that consist of custom electronics housed in hermetically sealed, biocompatible ceramic capsules with metal end-caps. Each one is only 16 mm long and 2.5 mm in diameter IMES are inductively powered through a magnetic field produced by a coil laminated inside the wall of a prosthetic socket frame. Bidirectional telemetry is achieved through modulation of this field. Each implant amplifies, filters, and transmits the detected signal to a Telemetry Controller (TC).

In the first-generation product, the TC was incorporated into a belt pack connected to the coil by a cable, but improvements have since been made that allow for integration of the TC in the prosthetic frame housing. The TC separates out the samples from each of the implants, reconstructs them into an analog envelope, and then routes each one to a pre-assigned motor of the prosthesis to effect a particular movement. The different movements can all occur simultaneously. Raw digital samples of signals acquired from up to 16 devices can be fed to a controller that uses machine learning to determine which muscles have contracted and either activate different hand grasps or perform individual finger control of a robotic hand.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

Stretchable Electronics for Stroke Recovery

Peter KunHyuck Lee, John A. Rogers, Steve Xu, and Xiaoyue Ni, Rogers Research Group, Evanston, IL USA

Stroke survivors might suffer from the loss of their ability to understand or express speech. This device, incorporating a stretchable sensor, features a flexible mechanical form factor, mounts onto the patient, and records clean and accurate data. The design enables it to stretch 200% without failure. When mounted to the neck, a single device can acquire heart rate, respiration rate, talking time, and swallowing quality simultaneously. The device is shaped anatomically so that the patients can place the device on the proper mounting location without a clinician’s assistance.

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SurgiBox: The Operating Room in a Backpack

Dr. Debbie Teodorescu MD/MEng, Sashidhar Jonnalagedda MS, Stephen Okajima MS, Prof. Mike Teodorescu, Dr. Suzanne Van Wijck MD, and Dr. Robert Smalley MD, SurgiBox, Cambridge, MA USA

SurgiBox shrinks the sterility problem for surgery down from the size of the operating room to the size of the patient. The box consists of a clear, sterile drape with an antimicrobial-adhesive, cut-through bottom. The drape is inflated into a bubble over the incision site with air processed through the battery-powered environmental control system. Providers operate through arm ports and materials move in and out via material ports. The fully self-contained, ready-to-use kit is suitable for limited spaces such as backpacks.

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A Smart Point-of-Care Human Blood Analysis Device

Dr. Chung-Yan Koh, Sandia National Laboratories; Osmond Bullen, Globalhealthusa, Galloway, NJ USA

SpinDx was developed for conducting simultaneous multiplexed immunoassays and white blood cell counts in less than 15 minutes. The technique is based on centrifugal microfluidics, or “lab-on-a-disk” technology that uses centrifugal forces to manipulate samples and reagents through microfluidic channels on the disk. The device can determine a patient’s white blood cell count, analyze important protein markers, and process up to 64 assays from a single sample in a matter of minutes.

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Braiding Technology-Based Stent Concept for Endoluminal Usage in Coronary Bifurcations

Marielies Becker, Fraunhofer TFK, Münchberg, Bavaria, Germany

This product is as flexible and compressible as possible while ensuring proper dilation and support of the main and side coronary vessel using a newly invented variation braiding technology. A customized bifurcated y-shaped braid can be fabricated in one fully automated braiding step. Shape memory alloy nickel/titanium, in combination with the braiding technology, generates flexibility and enables the stent to radially expand independently when placed in the correct position in the vessel.

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