A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a wearable that aims to track the tendon tension of runners and walkers.
The system, which non-invasively measures the tendons when the user is engaged in movement, the engineers hope, will one day be able to help plan more effective treatments for people suffering with injuries, as well as those with diseases.
“Currently, wearables can measure our movement, but do not provide information on the muscle forces that generate the movement,” said study leader Darryl Thelen.
“We’ve found a way to measure the vibrational characteristics—in this case, the speed of a shear wave traveling along a tendon. And then we went further and determined how we can interpret this measurement to find the tensile stress within the tendon.”
“We think the potential of this new technology is high, both from a basic science standpoint and for clinical applications,” Thelen continued.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: New CircuitPython and MicroPython Minor Updates and More! #Python #CircuitPython @micropython @ThePSF
