Health Tech
Emerging research, products, and human factors
Foot orthotics, those moulded insoles that reduce the stress of injury or genetic misalignment, are wondrous things. Acquiring them, though, can be troublesome. Patients wade through a hard-to-navigate, expensive maze of appointments,
… READ MOREFalls remain the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations among seniors in Canada, with 20-30% of seniors experiencing a fall every year at an annual economic burden estimated at $2 billion. Aysha Mendes, Close to Home Health
… READ MOREFigure 1. The semi-custom mouldable Softec Response orthotic used in the current study. Background Semi-custom foot orthoses (SCO) are thought to be a cost-effective alternative to custom-made devices. However, previous biomechanical
… READ MORE“The clinical benefit of joint unloading is proven to reduce pain,” clinical investigator Philipp Niemeyer of the University of Freiburg said in a statement. “However, while some methods of unloading will transfer the load to
… READ MOREJordan Siemens / Getty Images In order to accommodate patients to new foot orthoses over time, two steps are required: The first is to obtain a baseline reading of the immediate effects across several weeks to ensure consistency. The
… READ MOREJordan Siemens / Getty Images Author information: Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. nigg@ucalgary.ca Purpose The purposes of this project were to assess the effect
… READ MOREOrthotic shoe inserts may work, but it’s not clear why. Benno M. Nigg has become a leading researcher on orthotics — those shoe inserts that many athletes use to try to prevent injuries. And what he has found is not very
… READ MORERecent news of the tragic death of 72-year-old Elizabeth Bell from Alberta who was strangled by her Philips Lifeline non-breakaway medical alert pendant has health services across the country scrambling for safe alternatives.
… READ MOREFor people who are almost entirely unable to walk, a powerful heavy-duty electric wheelchair is sometimes necessary. For folks who simply have limited mobility, however, often all that’s needed is a little something to lessen
… READ MOREWorld’s lightest, least expensive motorized wheelchair designed by BYU engineering students. Young kids with various genetic disorders often have limited walking ability, requiring them to use wheelchairs. Yet, traditional
… READ MORENew research shows how inkjet-printing technology can be used to mass-produce electronic circuits made of liquid-metal alloys for “soft robots” and flexible electronics. Elastic technologies could make possible a new class
… READ MOREOsteoarthritis, OA affects approximately one in 10 individuals and is equally prevalent in men and women, although there is higher prevalence in postmenopausal and obese women. Knee OA’s high prevalence is directly associated with a
… READ MORENew research published in the BMJ suggests that for positional skull deformation in infants – flattening of the skull as a result of laying in the same position for long periods – wearing a corrective helmet does not
… READ MOREFunctional electrical stimulation (FES) is defined as the electrical stimulation of muscles that have impaired motor control, in order to produce a contraction to obtain functionally useful movement. It was first proposed in the 1980s
… READ MOREAim Ankle foot orthoses are the standard of care for foot drop in cerebral palsy (CP), but may overly constrain ankle movement and limit function in those with mild CP. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) may be a less restrictive
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