An artificial skin that can help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality

Just like our senses of hearing and vision, our sense of touch plays an important role in how we perceive and interact with the world around us. And technology capable of replicating our sense of touch – also known as…

Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine names Dr. Garlanger winner of Bors Award

Kristin Garlanger, DO, of the Mayo Clinic, is this year’s winner of the Ernest Bors, MD Award for Scientific Development, the journal’s annual award for best article by a young investigator

The 2019 CNRS innovation medallists

Trained at the University of Tromsø (Norway) and recruited at the Laboratory of Plasma Physics (CNRS/Ecole polytechnique/Observatoire de Paris/Université Paris-Sud/Sorbonne Université), Ane Aanesland, a CNRS researcher, is currently President and CEO of ThrustMe, a startup specialising in the propulsion of…

A smart artificial hand for amputees merges user and robotic control

EPFL scientists are developing new approaches for improved control of robotic hands – in particular for amputees – that combines individual finger control and automation for improved grasping and manipulation. This interdisciplinary proof-of-concept between neuroengineering and robotics was successfully tested…

Foot painters’ toes mapped like fingers in the brain

Using your feet like hands can cause organised ‘hand-like’ maps of the toes in the brain, never before documented in people, finds a new UCL-led study of two professional foot painters. These findings, published in Cell Reports , demonstrate an…

Researchers find regulator of first responder cells to brain injury

Astrocytes are the most abundant cells in the brain, yet there is still much to learn about them. For instance, it is known that when the brain is injured or diseased astrocytes are the first responders. They become reactive and…

UM physical therapy professor authors new guideline on treating runner’s knee

MISSOULA – University of Montana Assistant Professor Richard Willy is the lead author on a paper that offers new guidelines for treating patellofemoral pain, often known as “runner’s knee.” Patellofemoral pain (PFP) affects one in four of the general population…

Dr. Xuan Liu receives Switzer Research Fellowship for mobility research in cerebral palsy

NIDILRR fellowship funds gait retraining research in children by Children’s Specialized Hospital-Kes

UTHealth’s Argyrios Stampas earns training grant from Center for Clinical & Translational Sciences

Argyrios Stampas, MD, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation with McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), has been awarded a KL2 training grant for research pertaining to bladder conditions for spinal…

Bioprinting complex living tissue in just a few seconds

Tissue engineers create artificial organs and tissues that can be used to develop and test new drugs, repair damaged tissue and even replace entire organs in the human body. However, current fabrication methods limit their ability to produce free-form shapes…

A miniature stretchable pump for the next generation of soft robots

Soft robots have a distinct advantage over their rigid forebears: they can adapt to complex environments, handle fragile objects and interact safely with humans. Made from silicone, rubber or other stretchable polymers, they are ideal for use in rehabilitation exoskeletons…

Virtual reality experiences may help treat severe pain

Therapeutic virtual reality can be used to reduce severe pain in hospitalized patients, according to a study published August 14, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Brennan Spiegel of Cedars-Sinai Health System, USA, and colleagues. Therapeutic virtual reality…