TEDx Talks - Oltre la funzionalità: le sfumature della protesica | Nicolò Boccardo | TEDxSanremo
The speaker recounts experiences at the Centro Protesi Inail in Italy, highlighting the development of advanced prosthetic devices. A key story involves Marco, a patient who regained his handwriting ability after 45 years using a new prosthetic hand. This illustrates the potential for prosthetics to restore not just function but also personal identity. The development process involved extensive collaboration with patients, technicians, and therapists, using a design thinking approach to refine the prosthetic's functionality. The prosthetic uses a unique mechanism inspired by human tendons, allowing for natural movement and adaptability. This approach makes the device more intuitive and easier to integrate into the user's body schema. The video also discusses participation in international competitions to raise awareness about the role of technology in enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. The ultimate goal is to create prosthetics that are not only functional but also affordable and emotionally supportive, helping users regain autonomy and confidence.
Key Points:
- Prosthetics can restore personal identity and function, as shown by Marco's story.
- Design thinking and user feedback are crucial in developing effective prosthetic devices.
- The prosthetic uses a tendon-inspired mechanism for natural movement.
- Participation in competitions helps raise awareness about technology's role in disability.
- The goal is to make prosthetics affordable and emotionally supportive.
Details:
1. 🏥 The Italian Prosthetic Excellence
- The introduction sets the context for the discussion on Italian prosthetic excellence, highlighting the country's reputation in the field. It emphasizes the integration of advanced technology and traditional craftsmanship, which positions Italy as a leader in prosthetic development.
2. ✍️ Rediscovering the Ability to Write
- Protesi inael di vigorso di Budrio is recognized as an Italian excellence in prosthetics, both upper and lower limbs.
- Orthopedic technicians assemble the sockets, while psychologists and physiotherapists support patients throughout the rehabilitation process, which includes personalized training programs.
- The rehabilitation spans from post-amputation to the moment patients receive their prosthesis at home, focusing on rediscovering writing ability through tailored exercises and continual support.
- Patients engage in specific techniques and exercises designed to enhance their dexterity and control, crucial for writing.
- Success stories include individuals who have fully regained their writing abilities, showcasing the effectiveness of the rehabilitation program.
3. 🤝 Collaborative Development with Marco
- Marco participated in a clinical trial to test a prosthetic hand designed for writing. Despite losing his limb at 16 and not using his right hand for over 45 years, Marco's handwriting remained consistent with his past ability.
- The experiment highlighted that the neural pathways for coordination and movement were preserved, akin to the muscle memory of riding a bicycle after many years.
- Marco's successful use of the prosthetic hand demonstrates the potential for restoring fine motor skills through advanced prosthetics, suggesting significant implications for future rehabilitation technologies.
4. 🦾 Exploring Myoelectric Prosthesis
- The involvement of patients in the development process of myoelectric prostheses is crucial, as exemplified by Marco, who provided valuable feedback and insights that contributed to daily system improvements.
- Myoelectric prostheses, like the one used by Marco, are polyarticulated and can move all hand joints, utilizing integrated sensors in the rigid socket between the hand and the stump to send commands to the hand based on muscle contractions.
- The technology enables users to control the prosthesis by contracting the extensor muscle to open the hand and the flexor muscle to close it, allowing for intuitive operation reminiscent of natural hand movements.
5. 🔧 Creating a More Natural Prosthesis
- Users initially perceived prostheses as tools rather than body parts, likening them to hammers or screwdrivers, indicating a need for designs that integrate more naturally with the body.
- A preference emerged for simpler hand designs that disguise the mechanical nature of prostheses, suggesting that aesthetics and subtlety are important to users.
- Development of a new device focused on replicating a high-tech hand, incorporating articulated myoelectric prosthesis features, aimed to improve functionality and user experience.
- The design includes advanced sensors to enhance functionality, enabling the prosthesis to better mimic natural hand movements, addressing both functional and aesthetic user needs.
6. 🔍 Applying Design Thinking in Prosthetics
- The prosthetic device employs electronic boards to directly capture and send contraction commands to the actuation system, enhancing signal accuracy and response time.
- Powered by a battery with a straightforward on/off button, the device mirrors the user-friendliness of everyday electronics, requiring nightly charging similar to mobile phones.
- A novel differential mechanism, inspired by human hand tendons, replaces traditional multiple motors with a single motor, using cables and pulleys to distribute grip force efficiently to each finger.
- This differential mechanism allows for natural finger adaptation without conscious control, significantly improving the user experience and integration into the body schema.
- The design process utilized a design thinking framework, emphasizing user interaction and empathy to refine the prosthetic’s functionality and user integration.
- By focusing on the user’s natural hand movements, the prosthetic ensures that operation is intuitive, enhancing accessibility and usability.
7. 🏅 Participating in the Bionic Olympics
- The team collaborated with orthopedic technicians, physiotherapists, and psychologists to identify necessary improvements to optimize the device.
- Rapid ideation and prototyping were used to create a device that could be optimized through field testing and iteration.
- The optimized device was successfully used in collaboration with Marco and Colian.
- In 2020, the team participated in a Bionic Olympics event called Cybathlon, competing remotely due to the pandemic.
- The 2020 Cybathlon involved 60 teams from 23 different countries.
- The event aimed not just to showcase device effectiveness but to raise public awareness about the relationship between disability and technology.
8. ⚙️ Innovations and Accessibility in Prosthetics
- Between 2013 and 2018, a new prosthetic device was developed to compete with commercial options, featuring improved battery life and the ability to control hand opening/closing, elbow flexion and extension, and pronation and supination.
- The device is equipped with sensors and mini actuators under the fingertips, enhancing the sense of touch and user experience.
- Projected cost reductions of 30-40% aim to increase accessibility to these advanced prosthetics.
- Named in honor of Johan Smidl, a pioneer in bionic research and inventor of the first electric hand in Italy, this project represents a significant advancement in prosthetic technology.