A prosthetic hand developed by researchers at Italy's Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia mimicks the human hand by using a passive flexion-extension wrist module and a myoelectric prosthesis and battery-powered controller. The design incorporates size considerations and tasks like grasping.
Dr Jacob Segil was instrumental in developing a prosthetic hand that can feel, and is now turning his attention to Point Designs, which is creating prosthetic fingers made out of steel. The Veteran's Administration gave Segil a $1 million career development award.
Until 2002, new military members received an electrocardiogram as part of routine screening, but the tests were prone to false positives, and the military discontinued routine use. Reliability has since improved, and a group of military physicians is studying whether routine EKGs supported by advanced algorithms would catch conditions like familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and prevent sudden cardiac deaths.
A study presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual virtual meeting found that type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients have 33% and 19% higher risk of falls, respectively, compared with the general population. Type 2 diabetes patients also had a higher risk of fractures at the hip and femur, humerus, radius, and skull or face, while type 1 diabetes patients had higher risk of fractures only at the hip and femoral region, compared with the general population, the study found.
"It's done so much more for me than I thought it would..."When Matt Finney developed an infection after surgery to treat blood clots in his right arm, the loss of his thumb and portions of three other fingers was devastating. Facing major physiological changes as well as the psychological blow, Matt says he felt he had to start over in many areas of his life, and the amputations also severely restricted the cement mason's ability to work.
Read his story here
The FDA has opened its Digital Health Center of Excellence under its Center for Devices and Radiological Health that aims to accelerate digital health breakthroughs, provide knowledge to bolster best practices, and create regulations facilitating efficient oversight while maintaining adherence to FDA standards.
Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration has given clearance to B-Temia for its Keeogo Dermoskeleton system, a robotic exoskeleton system that helps stroke patients walk.
The Small Business Administration of Nebraska named Rakesh Srivastava of Innovative Prosthetics & Orthotics in Hastings as the state's Small Business Person of the Year. Srivastava lost his leg in an accident when he was a child and calls his company a passion.
Succession planning can ease the uncertainty of the many unknowns affecting businesses in 2020, writes Kendall Rawls. She explains the benefits of planning and describes the factors that go into it: feelings, family, finances and federal tax laws.
Using an accountant as a key advisor while growing a small-business is a smart idea, writes columnist Ty Kiisel. Try to push past a purely transactional relationship to a more consultative one by asking the right kids of questions, setting time aside for these conversations, making it a regular sit-down, and putting it together into a real plan for action.
