Technology: Robot Power Suit – Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) to Help Nurses and Patients

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA   “A robot suit that can help the elderly or disabled get around was given its global safety certificate in Japan on Wednesday, paving the way for its worldwide roll-out,” according to Discovery News. The Hybrid Assistive Limb®, or HAL, is a power-assisted pair of legs developed by Japanese robot maker, Yoshiyuki Sankai, CEO Cyberdyne Inc. The following text is an excerpt from the YouTube video below.    …

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Baby It’s Cold Outside

By Barbara Ficarra Be Careful When Shoveling in a Winter Wonderland While you were sleeping the snow began to fall.  Your alarm clock wakes you with the latest weather forecast.  “Accumulations of snow totaling 10 inches cover the roads, bitter temperatures of 15 degrees reach across the region and with the wind chill it feels like 2 degrees.  Strong gusty winds are whirling between 45 and 50 miles per hours; expect major delays across the…

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Is Low Back Pain a Common Condition in Most Adults?

By Daryll C. Dykes, MD Low back pain (LBP) is a nearly universal condition, affecting most adults at some point during their lifetime. Men and women are equally affected with a peak occurrence between the ages of 30 and 50. While LBP remains a considerable source of disability and health care expenditure (Americans spend approximately $50 billion per year on LPB-related conditions), typical episodes are short-lived and respond well to simple treatments. Fortunately, only rarely…

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