It might sound a little disturbing, but in all honesty, we humans are not as independent as we like to think. If we look around us, we would observe that we are surrounded, in quite an overwhelming fashion, by things that are solely designed to enhance the quality of our lives. Now, the first impressions here might be of a luxury we can turn to whenever we feel the need for it, but we are well past that point. Some of these things have taken up such an integral role in our lives that we can longer overlook them. The list of these things is growing every day, and one of the driving factors behind this is the raging popularity of technology. Technology has proven to be one of those few things that do not require any description of their impact. It’s just known by everyone as this ingenious creation has changed, more or less, every single life at least in some capacity. The conversation here would have been completely different, if technology has been just a solitary invention, but as we know, that doesn’t even start to depict what it’s all about. What technology has actually looked like is that segway into a better and more expansive future. It’s has done more than just moving the needle. The results have been varying, but one area where technology has been a resounding success is the medical field.
The latest testimony of it can be spotted in the invention of Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science branch. It’s a known fact that patients suffering from head and neck cancer require surgical removal of lymph nodes from the neck on a continuous basis, which leaves the patient in discomfort around that region. The mobility of the neck suffers greatly due to this; however the methods to gauge the extent of this discomfort haven’t delivered the kind of results which would help the medical professionals in sorting the issue out.
To tackle this, the research group at Columbia University came up with a portable robotic neck brace that measures neck mobility of patients under similar circumstances. The device is made up of 3D-printed parts and simple sensors that work in conjunction to deliver an assessment over neck’s state post-surgery. The data gathered from here boasts a significant influence over how a patient’s rehabilitation program is created.
