Ultrasound Tech Can Help People with Upper-Limb Loss
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Ultrasound technology can do more than diagnose various diseases; it can also help people with upper-limb loss move their prosthetic limbs and even play musical instruments again. This is just one of the many groundbreaking ultrasound technologies presented at UltraCon 2024, which was held in Austin, Texas.
Gil Weinberg, PhD, of the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology, one of the keynote speakers at the conference, presented his groundbreaking work on developing prosthetic robotic arms that can not only help upper-limb amputees play musical instruments again but also enhance their musical abilities. This technology also employs machine learning to analyze ultrasound signals coming from the residual limb.
The innovative approach involves interpreting the amputees' intended finger motions by detecting patterns in the ultrasound data, ultimately replicating them. The overarching goal of this research is to provide upper-limb amputees with robotic control akin to natural human musical expression.
In the testing phase of this technology, Weinberg and his team had the study participant play the piano dexterously. No other prosthetic technology has been able to achieve this yet.
In an interview with AuntMinnie.com, Weinberg talked about his work on single-element bracelets that use narrow ultrasound beams, which would be helpful in commercializing the technology. According to Weinberg, these single-element bracelets give them enough information to know what fingers a person with upper-limb loss wants to move.
However, no matter how groundbreaking and helpful the technology is, Weinberg said that commercialization is a challenge because there is no market for it.
“The market is small. There aren’t many upper-body amputees in the US or the world, as most amputations are in the lower body. If the technology only applies to amputees, the market size would be too small. However, we are exploring the technology’s use for able-bodied people,” Weinberg said.
Weinberg expounded that similar technology can be worn by able-bodied people on the wrist, and it could allow them to, for example, perform remote operations for robotic surgeons or diffuse bombs long distance.
“So, we’re still hopeful about trying to commercialize it for the general population. And once it’s out there, we hope amputees will be able to enjoy [the technology] as well,” Weinberg said.
