National day of superheroes approach. Where is my Supersuit?

I loved the caricature "Thundercats" when I was a child and looked at humanoids looking like cats that fought the forces of evil. Whenever their leader had problems, he would cast the omen's sword to acquire "vision as far as the eye can see", the possibility of seeing events taking place in distant places, or bellow "Thunder, Thunder, Thunder" , Thundercats, Hooo! his allies at his location to join the fight. Which child did not want these super powers?

I also wanted Green Lantern's ring, Wonder Woman's bracelets, Captain America's shield and of course the Batman suit. I never imagined that 30 years later, as we approached National Superhero Day, I would design components of my own combinations.

I did not really notice it a few months ago. That day, my childhood dreams were both destroyed and realized. Standing in a line, I noticed that everyone was focused on the screens of their smartphones. Suddenly it struck me: I already had the Sword of Omens superpowers. With my smartphone, I can see videos of distant events and send a text message to my friends. Billions of people now have what were considered superpowers.

But what about super physical powers? I wanted those too – like endurance or superhuman strength. These may not be too late: I work there in the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation and Technical Assistance Technology Center. Humanity has begun to enter the era of portable exoskeletons and exosuits that offer support and strength to people's bodies.

In the last five years, portable exoskeletons to help and facilitate movement have begun to leave the research labs and be used by the public. These are still old versions and science is still emerging, but they include the first many FDA approved exoskeletons to help people with spinal cord injury or after a stroke, as well as exoskeletons to keep workers safe and reduce the fatigue of physically demanding jobs.

Toyota even requires workers to wear exoskeletons as mandatory personal protective equipment when performing certain aerial tasks, where fatigue and muscle stress can cause injuries.

However, most people who can benefit from it still do not have access to exoskeletons because they are usually too big, too expensive, too much of a problem with other tasks, or not comfortable enough to wear them. I am fascinated by the prospect of ordinary people turning into everyday superheroes.

From my research lab, I can cross the street and go to Veterans Hospital or Vanderbilt University Medical Center in less than two minutes. Nurses and other health care professionals who perform hard tasks of lifting, leaning and carrying patients to care for their patients are likely to suffer from low back pain – or can already live it. A tracksuit could help prevent this pain.

Low back pain is a complex problem with many potential sources, but a common source is stress caused by repetitive forces on muscles and discs. Most adults suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives, and this is one of the leading causes of physical disability. The prestigious medical journal The Lancet recently published a three-part series addressing all – national and international decision makers to funding agencies through researchers, engineers and clinicians – to help improve the effectiveness of care and to develop new innovative solutions to combat this global epidemic.

Over the past three years, the research team I led has developed a garment-like exoskeleton, which could more accurately be described as mechanized garment, spring-loaded exosuit, or even supernatural clothing. combination. It consists of a cloth vest and shorts, elastic fabric bands and a switch that allows the wearer to activate or deactivate the assistance of the suit.

When it is off, the wearer can move freely and completely, which is not the case with exoskeletons. Our suit has neither motor nor battery and weighs less than three pounds. No part of the body protrudes, so it is easily hidden under everyday clothing.

However, at any time, it can be activated. The elastic bands of the suit support some of the load that usually passes through the muscles of the person's back. In a first series of laboratory tests, the combination reduced the load on the lower back muscles by approximately 20% during emergence and up to 40% during leaning, as well as from 30% to 40%. % fatigue of the back muscles on average. .

We recently formed a spin-off of this research, aptly named HeroWear LLC, to make this sweat suit available to people and organizations that can benefit from it. We expect the product to be on the market in 2020. We have also started a multi-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health to integrate wearable sensors and machine learning into our combinations. With these additions, we may be able to develop future combinations that will monitor stress on the wearer's back and automatically activate assistance when needed.

For many exoskeletons, the goal is similar to that of a good cartoon combination. – do not do the work for the wearer, but to improve and support the natural abilities of this person. Helping the back muscles is only the beginning. We also designed a spring-like exosuit to help the ankle muscles walk and run. This can help increase stamina or reduce the force exerted on the muscles and tendons of the calf when someone is recovering from an injury.

Similar combinations may also be designed to support the neck of nurses and surgeons who lean forward for extended periods of time during procedures, or to reduce arm fatigue in a heavy-duty worker or parent carrier of a child.