Bio-mechatronics is an applied
interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
science that aims to integrate
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
and
mechatronics (
electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
,
electronics
Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
, and
mechanical
Mechanical may refer to:
Machine
* Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement
* Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...
engineering). It also encompasses the fields of
robotics
Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
and
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...
. Biomechatronic devices cover a wide range of applications, from developing
prosthetic limbs to
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
solutions concerning respiration, vision, and the cardiovascular system.
How it works
Bio-mechatronics mimics how the human body works. For example, four different steps must occur to lift the foot to walk. First,
impulses from the
brain
The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...
's motor center are sent to the foot and
leg muscles. Next, the
nerve cells in the feet send information, providing feedback to the brain, enabling it to adjust the
muscle
Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...
groups or amount of
force
In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...
required to walk across the ground. Different amounts of
energy
Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...
are applied depending on the type of surface being walked across. The leg's
muscle spindle
Muscle spindles are stretch receptors within the body of a skeletal muscle that primarily detect changes in the length of the muscle. They convey length information to the central nervous system via afferent nerve fibers. This information can be ...
nerve cells then sense and send the position of the floor back up to the
brain
The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...
. Finally, when the foot is raised to step, signals are sent to
muscles
Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...
in the leg and foot to set it down.
Biosensors
Biosensors
A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector.
The ''sensitive biological element'', e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell rece ...
detect what the user wants to do or their intentions and motions. In some devices, the information can is relayed by the user's
nervous or
muscle system. This information is related by the biosensor to a
controller, which can be located inside or outside the biomechatronic device. In addition biosensors receive information about the
limb position and force from the
limb and
actuator
An actuator is a machine element, component of a machine that produces force, torque, or Displacement (geometry), displacement, when an electrical, Pneumatics, pneumatic or Hydraulic fluid, hydraulic input is supplied to it in a system (called an ...
. Biosensors come in a variety of forms. They can be
wire
file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...
s which detect
electrical activity, needle electrodes implanted in
muscles
Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...
, and
electrode arrays with
nerves growing through them.
Electromechanical sensors
The purpose of the mechanical sensors is to measure information about the biomechatronic device and relate that information to the biosensor or controller.
Additionally, many sensors are being used at schools, such as Case Western Reserve University, the University of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins University, among others, with the goal of recording physical stimuli and converting them to neural signals for a subarea of bio-mechatronics called neuro-mechatronics.
Controller
The controller in a biomechatronic device relays the user's intentions to the actuators. It also interprets feedback information to the user that comes from the biosensors and mechanical sensors. The other function of the controller is to control the biomechatronic device's movements.
Actuator
The actuator can be an artificial muscle but it can be any part of the system which provides an outward effect based on the control input. For a mechanical actuator, its job is to produce force and movement. Depending on whether the device is
orthotic or
prosthetic the actuator can be a motor that assists or replaces the user's original muscle. Many such systems actually involve multiple actuators.
Research
Bio-mechatronics is a rapidly growing field but as of now there are very few labs which conduct research. The
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago),
University of California at Berkeley,
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
,
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and
University of Twente in the Netherlands are the researching leaders in bio-mechatronics. Three main areas are emphasized in the current research.
#Analyzing human motions, which are complex, to aid in the design of biomechatronic devices
#Studying how electronic devices can be interfaced with the nervous system.
#Testing the ways to use living muscle tissue as actuators for electronic devices
Analyzing motions
A great deal of analysis over human motion is needed because human movement is very complex.
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
and the
University of Twente are both working to analyze these movements. They are doing this through a combination of
computer models,
camera
A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
systems, and
electromyograms.
Neural Interfacing
Interfacing allows bio-mechatronics devices to connect with the muscle systems and nerves of the user in order send and receive information from the device. This is a technology that is not available in ordinary
orthotics and
prosthetics devices. Groups at the
University of Twente and
University of Malaya
The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...
are making drastic steps in this department. Scientists there have developed a device which will help to treat
paralysis
Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
and
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
victims who are unable to control their foot while walking. The researchers are also nearing a breakthrough which would allow a person with an
amputated leg to control their
prosthetic leg through their stump muscles.
Researchers at MIT have developed a tool called the MYO-AMI system which allows for proprioceptive feedback (position sensing) in the lower extremity (legs, transtibial). Still others focus on interfacing for the upper extremity (Functional Neural Interface Lab, CWRU). There are both CNS and PNS approaches further subdivided into brain, spinal cord, dorsal root ganglion, spinal/cranial nerve, and end effector techniques and some purely surgical techniques with no device component (see Targeted Muscle Reinnervation).
MIT research
Hugh Herr is the leading biomechatronic scientist at
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
. Herr and his group of researchers are developing a
sieve integrated circuit
An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...
electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a varie ...
and prosthetic devices that are coming closer to mimicking real human movement. The two prosthetic devices currently in the making will control knee movement and the other will control the stiffness of an ankle joint.
Robotic fish
As mentioned before Herr and his colleagues made a
robotic fish that was propelled by living muscle tissue taken from frog legs. The robotic fish was a prototype of a biomechatronic device with a living actuator. The following characteristics were given to the fish.
* A styrofoam float so the fish can float
* Electrical wires for connections
* A silicone tail that enables force while swimming
* Power provided by lithium batteries
* A microcontroller to control movement
* An infrared sensor enables the microcontroller to communicate with a handheld device
* Muscles stimulated by an electronic unit
Arts research
New media artists at UCSD are using bio-mechatronics in performance art pieces, such as Technesexual
more informationphotosvideo, a performance which uses biometric sensors to bridge the performers' real bodies to their Second Life avatars and Slapshock
more informationphotosvideo, in which medical TENS units are used to explore intersubjective symbiosis in intimate relationships.
Growth
The demand for biomechatronic devices are at an all-time high and show no signs of slowing down. With increasing technological advancement in recent years, biomechatronic researchers have been able to construct prosthetic limbs that are capable of replicating the functionality of human appendages. Such devices include the "i-limb", developed by prosthetic company Touch Bionics, the first fully functioning prosthetic hand with articulating joints, as well as Herr's PowerFoot BiOM, the first prosthetic leg capable of simulating muscle and tendon processes within the human body. Biomechatronic research has also helped further research towards understanding human functions. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina State have created an exoskeleton that decreases the metabolic cost of walking by around 7 percent.
Many biomechatronic researchers are closely collaborating with military organizations. The
US Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet of the United States, Cabinet-level United States federal executive departments, executive branch department of the Federal government of the United States, federal government c ...
and the
Department of Defense are giving funds to different labs to help soldiers and war veterans.
Despite the demand, however, biomechatronic technologies struggle within the healthcare market due to high costs and lack of implementation into insurance policies. Herr claims that Medicare and Medicaid specifically are important "market-breakers or market-makers for all these technologies," and that the technologies will not be available to everyone until the technologies get a breakthrough. Biomechatronic devices, although improved, also still face mechanical obstructions, suffering from inadequate battery power, consistent mechanical reliability, and neural connections between prosthetics and the human body.
See also
*
Artificial cardiac pacemaker
*
Artificial muscle
*
Biomechanics
Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to Organ (anatomy), organs, Cell (biology), cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechani ...
*
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...
*
Bionics
Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.
The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 195 ...
*
Brain–computer interface
A brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a brain–machine interface (BMI), is a direct communication link between the brain's electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. BCIs are often dire ...
*
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...
*
Cyberware
*
Gerontechnology
Gerontechnology, also called is an inter- and multidisciplinary academic as well as a professional field that combines various disciplines of gerontology and technology. Sustainability of an aging society depends on our effectiveness in creati ...
*
Mechatronics
*
Neural engineering
*
Neuroprosthetics
*
Orthotics
*
Prosthetics
Notes
External links
Biomechatronics lab at MITBiomechatronics lab at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Biomechatronics lab at University of TwenteExperimental Biomechatronics Lab at Carnegie Mellon UniversityBiomechatronics laboratory at Imperial College LondonLaboratory for Biomechatronics at the Technische Universität Ilmenau
{{Authority control
Electromechanical engineering
Health care robotics