Technology Area: Wearable Devices

Technologies 11

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• Wearable Technology for True Movement Quantification
  WurQ combines wearable sensors, with deep learning and signal processing algorithms, to assess the amount, quality, and intensity of functional movements and strength training activities. This quantitative data enables feedback, guidance, and gamification at scale to improve users fitness routines and health.
• Soft Robotic Glove for Neuromuscular Rehabilitation
  The soft robotic glove helps restore lost hand function in patients with neurological conditions using inflatable chambers that gently bend and straighten the fingers repeatedly. Wyss startup Imago Rehab launched in 2021 to commercialize this technology for at-home rehabilitation of stroke survivors, and aims to expand its offerings into other areas of rehabilitation.
• wFDCF Face Masks: A Wearable COVID-19 Diagnostic
  The Problem The COVID-19 pandemic has made it starkly clear that the world lacks rapid, accurate diagnostic tests for pathogens. When patients arrive in a medical facility for treatment, the triage process is hindered by diagnostic tests that are inaccurate or take a long time to produce results. In addition, patients who are asymptomatic and...
• FOAMs: Soft Robotic Artificial Muscles
  Soft robots, similar to living organisms, are made from compliant materials that allow them great flexibility and adaptability for tasks at the human-robot interface and elsewhere. To enable soft robotic missions in different industrial, exploratory, and medical settings, engineers are trying to equip them with artificial muscles that could enable them to move smoothly, efficiently...
• Soft Exosuits for Back Support During Strenuous Tasks
  Over half a million workers in the manufacturing and construction industries are injured on the job each year, resulting in an estimated direct cost of $13.8 billion. Occupational back pain is the leading cause of injury and accounts for one-third of all musculoskeletal injuries, resulting in a median of eight days of missed work. Discussions...
• Soft Robotic Shoulder Support for Stroke Rehabilitation
  The majority of stroke survivors have difficulty using their affected arm in everyday life. Commercial rehabilitation robots exist, but most are expensive, rigid, non-portable exoskeletons that can only be used in clinical rehabilitation settings. Portable devices could considerably increase the frequency and amount of robotic therapy, maximizing the recovery possible for patients with arm impairments....

Collaborations 1

• Brigham-Wyss DxA
  The Wyss DxA's clinical partners from Brigham and Women’s Hospital identify the most pressing unmet diagnostic needs, provide access to high-quality patient samples for our Biomarker Discovery Laboratory (BDL) and Brigham-Wyss DxA collaborators, and provide invaluable feedback and guidance on the engineering and validation of cost-effective, sensitive, and specific diagnostic tests.

News 61

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• Press Release
  
  A new glue, potentially also for you
  February 20, 2024
• Research Spotlights
  
  Soft robotic, wearable device improves walking for individual with Parkinson’s disease
  January 5, 2024
• Press Release
  
  Clearing a path for non-invasive muscle therapy for the elderly
  March 22, 2023

Multimedia 33

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  Video/Animation
  How can we restore mobility to the sick and injured?
  Researchers at the Wyss Institute are working to improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from reduced mobility. This video focuses on two platform technologies that could improve the quality of life for these patients: stochastic resonance and wearable soft robotics. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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  Video/Animation
  Reimagining Robots to be Smaller, Softer, and Safer
  Wyss Associate Faculty members, Conor Walsh and Rob Wood, discuss their visions for the future of bio-inspired soft robotics. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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  Video/Animation
  Soft Robots Aiding the Elderly and People with Physical Impairments
  An interdisciplinary team at Harvard University School of Engineering and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University is building soft robots for older adults and people with physical impairments. Examples of these robots are the Assistive Hip Suit and Soft Robotic Glove, both of which have been included in the 2021-2022 Smithsonian Institution exhibit entitled “FUTURES.”...

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  Video/Animation
  Innovation Showcase – Wyss Institute: Wearable Technology with Biosensors
  Jay Sugarman talks with Peter Nguyen Ph.D., Luis Soenksen, Ph.D., and Nina Donghia–all of whom are associated with the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. They’re on Innovation Showcase to inform viewers about the groundbreaking research they and their colleagues have been involved with related to the development of wearable technology as...

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  Audio/Podcast
  Talking Biotech: COVID-19 Detection Masks and Wearables
  COVID-19 is the spectrum of pathologies caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus. While the pandemic moves well into its second year, the importance of detection in populations cannot be overstated. However, testing methods typically include visiting testing centers, and it is hard to find a test that is both rapid and precise. Wyss  Research Scientist Dr....

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  Video/Animation
  Beating Back the Coronavirus – COVID-19 detecting face mask
  Using freeze-dried cell free reactions and CRISPR-based biosensors, researchers at the Wyss Institute and M.I.T. have created a face mask that can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a wearer’s breath in under 90 minutes. Such a mask would allow medical professionals to quickly identify COVID-19 patients and begin effective treatments. This facemask is a proof-of-concept...