Bio Robotics: Wearable Prosthetics

Presented by Jocelyn Daniel, Biotechnology, University of Central Florida
and Daniela Delgado, Computer Science, Middlebury College

Worldwide Impact

• 30 million people worldwide
• 1 in 1,900 babies in the United States

Focused Impact

Create an economical and environmentally friendly wearable device that is up to date with today's technology

Environmentally Favorable

Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA)

• Biodegradable
• Less carbon emissions
• Easier to work with

Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG)

• Long lasting
• The smoke is carcinogenic
• More expensive overall
• Used in production of consumer products

Compare, Contrast & Cost

Myoelectrical hand

• Intricate wiring, advanced technology
• Complicated surgery needed in order to connect nerve receptors and wiring
• Cost: $20,000-100,000 (depends)

Enable hand

• Need a 3D printer, printing skills and experience, some flexible wiring, and metal screws
• Non invasive, still mobile
• Cost $200-300
• Total with printer: $1,000-1,500 (depending on printer and material chosen)

Creating Mold

1. Using 3D printing software to create the negative mold
2. Mixing Dragon skin, vacuuming it, perfecting it
3. Critiquing, making adjustments to the final product

A person's hand with manicured fingernails holds a small, two-part object. The object consists of a translucent, frosted top piece shaped like a dome with a wavy bottom edge, and a solid blue cylindrical base. The hand is holding the blue base between the thumb and index finger. The object is positioned over a light-colored wooden surface, with a laptop keyboard and a black cord partially visible in the blurred background. The image is taken at a slight downward angle, focusing on the hand and the object.

Challenges

• New to 3D printing (tinkercadd, solidworks)
• Molding
• Time for background research
• A lot of trial and errors

Final Product

Importance of Touch

Give the sensation of feeling to children

Arduino

• Top-left: a rectangular blue printed circuit board with USB connector on the left, multiple headers along the top and right edges, and white printed markings including the word “UNO.”
• Bottom-left: a smaller blue rectangular circuit board with a micro USB connector at one end and a row of pins along both long edges.
• Center: a photograph of a hand holding several insulated jumper wires and a small black connector; the wires run to a blue circuit board positioned on a wooden surface.
• Right: a screenshot of a software window showing an editor with the text “sketch_jul26a” and two empty functions labeled “void setup() { }” and “void loop() { }”.

Voltage to Pressure

The image shows three main elements arranged horizontally:

Left photo: A hand holding a small electronic sensor or module with a blue circuit board. The device appears to have multiple pins and components mounted on it. Colored wires (red, yellow, black) are connected to the device.

Center photo: A white breadboard with various colored wires (red, yellow, black, white) inserted into it. The wires appear to be making connections across different rows of the breadboard.

Right graph: A line chart with a red plotted line showing data points. The x-axis appears to span from approximately 554 to 854, while the y-axis ranges from 0 to approximately 160. The line shows several peaks of varying heights, with the highest peaks reaching around 140-150 on the y-axis.

Calibrating the Data

The image shows three main elements:

Top left photo: Four circular discs arranged in a 2x2 grid on a dark wooden surface. Two discs appear yellow/gold colored and two appear light blue/cyan colored. Each disc has a small dark center hole. A hand is visible holding a blue cylindrical object.

Bottom left photo: A computer screen displaying what appears to be a data plotting or graphing software interface. The screen shows a grid with red line plots forming rectangular step patterns at different levels.

Right graph: A chart titled "Calibration Data" with a legend indicating "Pressure Applied" (orange line) and "Pressure (kPa) Trendline" (blue line). The x-axis shows time stamps ranging from approximately 16:58:00 to 17:01:30. The y-axis shows pressure values from 40 to 100 kPa. The orange line shows step-like patterns with plateaus at different pressure levels, while the blue line shows a gradual upward trend.

Understanding the Findings

Challenges:

• Sensor does not work well
  • Difficult to analyze findings

Limiting the Sensor:

• 0% → 55.0923 kPa at rest
• 100% → 162.6291 kPa at 0.400 lbf

Results:

• The finger would have pressure reading limitations when used

Future

• Mobility
  • Wiring, coding
• Have sensors for all fingers
  • Done from scratch
• A working mold
• Tests on pediatric patient
  • Hard to do

CONSTANT GOAL:

• Non-invasive
• Cost effective
• Biologically and environmentally friendly

References

• https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2018/04/limb-loss-adapting-to-the-challenges-and-hitting-milestones
• https://cdn.thingiverse.com/assets/09/62/11/29/80/RAPTOR_assembly_instructions_R1.2.pdf
• https://www.3dprintingspot.com/post/petg-vs-pla-main-pros-cons-of-both
• https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/human-and-robotic-hand-touching-picture-id1149086253?k=20&m=1149086253&s=612x612&w=0&h=XciFpCuOAlvMlcJ2ar_yr9-mejm2F9N72p-mSkbcMWo=
• https://www.gmelectronic.com/data/product/1024_1024/pctdetail.774-024.1.jpg
• https://cdn.shoplightspeed.com/shops/642375/files/29464252/800x800x3/arduino-uno-r3-development-board.jpg
• https://mcopro.com/blog/resources/arm-hand-prosthetics/#:~:text=How%20much%20does%20a%20prosthetic,the%20latest%20myoelectric%20arm%20technology.
• https://www.vmcdn.ca/f/files/airdrietoday/import/24/2018/05/GT-20180130-RVW0302-301309985-AR.jpeg

End of Presentation

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