Portuguese Company has developed a solution to restore the function of the hand for the elderly and people with pain or lack of strength
A ‘startup’ of the Port has developed a glove electronics which allows people with problems in the muscles and joints of the hand to pick up heavy objects, that can reach up to 40 kilos, with the hand “relaxed” and without force.
This technological solution, “safe” and “light”, uses textile, thin, breathable, flexible, smart and customizable, and enables you to return hand function for people with pain or lack of strength, said to Lusa the responsible for the project, Philip Quinaz.
the solution to The ‘startup’ KEPT is based, mainly, “in components of low energy consumption, designed to deal with the support of heavy weight, keeping sensitivity to the touch and a relationship is not intrusive with the body.”
THE KEPT, that account currently, with seven elements in the areas of engineering and Computer science, Mechanical, Electromechanical and Bioengineering, and a professional in the industry, is integrated in the Science and Technology Park of University of Porto (UPTEC).
according To the entrepreneur, one of the main uses is in the medical area, being the product, in this case, oriented to the elderly or have arthritis and patients who have had a cerebral vascular accident (STROKE).
The system also allows monitoring the holistic function of the hand, in real time, and the treatment plans of the subsequent streamline the way patient data are “collected, accessed, shared, and learned” by health professionals, he added.
Another focus is the sector that encompasses activities demanding (workers on assembly lines or in construction, for example), can the glove be used to increase the comfort, safety and productivity of these professionals.
According to Philip Quinaz, this is the market that the team provides to enter with more ease due to the greater simplicity of certification and the fact that, for the case of companies, they have a sales process more simple and buy the product in greater amount.
The technology is equipped with crawl components that collect data, such as the strength used, the stability, mobility, among others, and shares them with users and health professionals, they can verify if you are using a lot of strength, lifting too much weight, if you are with the hand in a position that is ergonomically wrong or if the exercise plan is executed in the best manner.
According to the young, the idea for the creation of the technology came when he broke his hand and was “completely limited”. From the point of view of muscle, “even after the bone has recovered”, you are left with an injury, and it took “tons of time” to get back the functionality of all of the member.
During this period, in which was finishing a phd in Biomedicine at the University of Beira Interior, noticed that a “simple reduction” of the strength of the hand has “very serious consequences” and, with the help of two teachers, decided to create a prototype of what would be, in the future, this solution and to participate in the contest technology Microsoft Imagine Cup.
With the idea, already patented, the next step was to form a team and make a functional prototype, having won the european version of the same contest and, in August 2014, reached the final of the Microsoft Imagine Cup worldwide, where were only selected ten teams around the world.
Participated in the StartupBraga, having, in January 2015, created the company. At that time, the product began to be developed with Portuguese partners, and in the latter year, to perform tests that allow for the industrialization.
The company is also represented in the United States, in an acceleration program called UTEN, the University of Texas, and scheduled for 2017 the beginning of the activity in London, England.
in addition, have been invited to be one of the ten companies-the flag of the Entiq, a platform for innovation which will open in London.
Has as partners the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management (INEGI), Porto, the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), Braga, the Technological Centre of Textile and Clothing from Portugal (CITEVE), the Centre of Nanotechnology and Technical, Functional, and Smart (CeNTI), the University of Beira Interior, Microsoft and StartupBraga.
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