Folks weakened by osteoarthritis or myositis may need help with everyday tasks like watering plants, filling the kettle or peeling potatoes. The Carbonhand robo-glove is designed to support such activities, and is now available to everyone in the US.
Bioservo's work on a soft robotic glove aimed at strengthening the human grip for use in rehabilitation, preventing stress in repetitive tasks or supporting daily activities began in the Mechatronics lab at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology. The company was founded in 2006 to develop the first commercial product – the SEM Glove.
In 2016, General Motors licensed out RoboGlove technology co-created with NASA to Bioservo. This appears to have led to the launch of the Ironhand system in early 2018 as the world's first soft robotic muscle strengthening system, designed "to fight strain injuries and support workers on the factory floor to stay healthy and reduce the impact of their daily tasks."
Bioservo has also been working on a grip-strengthening glove for use by folks at home who might need some help grasping or holding stuff to regain some independence – such as those with conditions like multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, myositis, osteoarthritis and others weakened by stroke or traumatic injuries.
The Carbonhand sports pressure sensors in each part-open glove that feed signals back to a control system to activate motors when extra help is needed to firmly hold objects. The motors pull on artificial tendons to create a "natural and dynamic grip" and apply the force (up to 20 newtons per finger) needed to take hold.
The index finger and pinkie remain uncovered while the thumb, second and third fingers are gloved. A small powerpack can be worn at the waist or on the back, with arm straps available to keep cabling in place, and custom settings can be applied via a companion mobile app.
The company initially rolled out the Carbonhand system to patients in Sweden, Norway and Germany but recently made it available in the US exclusively to veterans – with the first prescribed to Montana's John Lamb in February, who suffers from a rare condition called inclusion body myositis that causes muscle weakness/damage.
Now availability has been opened up to all patients, who are invited to complete an online questionnaire – after which a specialist will be in touch to talk things through and kick off the acquisition process. Pricing has not been revealed.
Product page: Carbonhand