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Abstract For years, plants have tried to adapt to the environmental changes caused by time, improving and developing their biological structures. Many of these structural and functional properties of plants have great potential for the development of concepts in the field of biomimetics. Recent previous studies have shown that the movement of Mimosa pudica L. is caused by the variation of turgor pressure within the cells of organs motor, that is, the influx and efflux of water by osmosis, generating reversible changes in the shape of the plant. Thus, this article sought, through research and literature references, to carry out a survey of studies related to the seismonastic movements of the plant and its applications in the design of technological innovations. In addition, it presents the development of a pneumatic actuator based on the abstraction of the morphology of the primary pulvinus of the plant and the concept of bioinspired design of the theoretical model based on the technology of soft robots. As a result, the bioinspired actuator model of the plant movement is described. In addition, with a simulation, it was possible to observe that the flexible modules are capable of generating the proposed movement and allow movement of the actuator. With the study, it was possible to understand that the movement of the plant appears as an embryo for the projection of technologies, and that the proposed study appears as the basis for research with pneumatic actuators.
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INTRODUCTION: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a mode of non-invasive mechanical ventilation commonly used in neonatology. The incorporation of new therapeutic and technological advances may impact the survival of very low birth weight preterm infants. However, one of the difficulties faced is the high cost of this device and its numerous add-on functions, such as Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), flow limitation, among others. Thus, in this study, we aim to address the design and construction of a CPAP device prototype to be used in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). METHODS: In order to design the experimental CPAP device with sensory instrumentation for providing data to a micro-controlled system, electro-pneumatic circuits and signal conditioning boards of sensors have been fitted to achieve optimized CPAP function with low energy consumption. While running this setup, a metrological study was carried out to evaluate the sensors' performance. The methodology employed for the study was the IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize, and Validate) method, a variant of six sigma, to minimize the failure rates. It is expected that it works under valve activation to maintain positive pressure in the airways of the patient (neonate). RESULTS: The whole system performs satisfactorily (low noise level) for each assessed module. Additionally, it is emphasized that software development for application control has resulted in a significant improvement of hardware functions. CONCLUSION: In this work, a system that performs the CPAP function was obtained; the research has shown that, by adopting a specific purpose, it may create a better understanding of Assistive Technology.
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Because of the safety and flexibility, pneumatics shows prospects of application in the field of rehabilitation. This article in-troduced the application of pneumatics in rehabilitation for stroke.
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@#Because of the safety and flexibility, pneumatics shows prospects of application in the field of rehabilitation. This article introduced the application of pneumatics in rehabilitation for stroke.