Design of Biomedical Soft Robotic Device for Lower Limbs Mechanical Muscle Rehabilitation and Electrochemical Monitoring under Reduced-Gravity Space Environment

Ticllacuri, Victor and Cornejo, Jose and Castrejon, Niels and Diaz, Aurora B. and Hinostroza, Katherine and Dev, Devjoy and Chen, Yen Kai and Palacios, Paul and Castillo, Walter and Vargas, Mariela and Cornejo-Aguilar, Jorge A. and Montalvan, Juan and Roman-Gonzalez, Avid (2021) Design of Biomedical Soft Robotic Device for Lower Limbs Mechanical Muscle Rehabilitation and Electrochemical Monitoring under Reduced-Gravity Space Environment. In: 2021 IEEE URUCON, URUCON 2021 :. 2021 IEEE URUCON, URUCON 2021 . Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., URY, pp. 227-231. ISBN 9781665424431

Abstract

Space travel is one of humanity's most fantastic aspirations. However, space is the most dangerous environment due to extreme conditions. Reduced-gravity generates disuse muscle atrophy and impaired blood circulation in lower limbs. Therefore, this paper proposes a new biomedical soft robotic system to improve muscle development and promote blood circulation by applying energetically efficient mechanical stimulation to the soft tissues of the astronaut's lower limb and, additionally, to monitor their performance by cotton-based carbon nanotubes biosensors. The computational mechanical simulations performed show a maximum increase in energy optimisation of 89% and a maximum safety factor of 2.75. These preliminary results suggest an increase in the efficiency and safety of the soft robotic device.