Robotic Massage

Facials, Spas, Massages, and health products are all the rage. The human pampering industry is a 2 billion dollar industry. It is no wonder that many are looking for an entrance into this market.

The robotics industry has been in this area for a while now, but not very widely recognize. Simply walk into Brookstone at your local mall and you will be faced by a massaging robot in the form of a lounge chair. These robotic massage therapist can run in the upwards of $5,000.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting some folks whose whole focus is massage chairs. Their chairs far exceeded the quality and massage style of Brookstone's and ran in the $1 to $2 thousand range.

However, if you have more money to burn and are looking for the ultimate robot to massage you then wait no more. A new $70K robot has been premiere in Japan and it is ready for facial massages. Researchers at Tokyo's Waseda University hope the contraption will soon be deployed to hospitals and spas across Japan to give therapeutic facial massages. The WAO-1 (Waseda Asahi Oral Rehabilitation Robot 1) robot, is being developed initially for patients with jaw-related medical problems, but will make a penetration into Massage Therapist Offices in the near future. The robotics driving the unit have been refined to account for the softness and bone structure of the face. Learn more on this from the AP.

Letting the Robot Go Where Few Are Allow To Go

I recently relocated to Florida as such any news coming out of the area typically catches my eye. There is not much for news coming out of the JAX area, but in nearby Gainesville, FL a couple is making headlines.

It appears that a robot has been put where surgeons can only approach with a microscope. A local DJ just recently married is seeking to continue expanding his family members. He had a vasectomy done a few years back after a couple of kids with his first wife. Now recently married for the second time, the disc jockey is looking to start a new family alongside his new bride.

As such, he turned to da Vinci Type S robotic surgery system at the University of Florida. The $1.4 million system is designed for the most complex, minimally invasive surgeries. With this system, the patient is placed on the operating room table surrounded by four interactive robotic arms, an endoscopic camera and video system that transmitted high-resolution, 3-D images from inside the patient's body. The system simply marries all the skills of a surgeon with the exacting precision of a robot.

The robot makes the reversal more precise and aids in cases where scar tissue build up could render the male genitalia useless in the fertility arena. For more on the story go local to Gainesville.com

A New Evolution of Massage Chairs

I remember like five years ago or so my boss at the time decided to give everyone a massage pad for our chairs. The unit was clunky at best and just didn't provide the comfort promised in the box, but is the thought that counts, right?

I had forgotten about this unit until recently when I moved and went through all my belongings with a fine comb, throwing out everything I hadn't use in a year or more. Interesting enough, today a news piece made its way to my inbox, the release titled "Ultra-slim HT-1470 robotic portable massage pad covers 25% more back area" caught my eye.

Apparently human touch™, a large distributor of massage chairs and pads claim to have created a pad that provides 25-percent more back-area coverage than competing massage pads. This was one of the many complaints I had in regards to the aforementioned pad. The lead engineer of the massage robot claimed that in the design of the HT-1470, they took a new approach to robotic massage technology and functionality. In order to make the HT-1470 a great success, they redefine the potential of massage robotics while minimizing the thickness of the mechanism, portability and weight, and maintaining the industry-leading massage quality for which human touch is renowned. This all provided at an attractive price point.

Doctors often speak of the benefits of a good massage, the proof is in the growing number of LMT's, licensed massage therapists. However, the cost of a massage could be enough to give you a coronary. Robotics might make the difference, this unit is available directly from www.humantouch.com, offered with a suggested retail price of $249.99.

Uterine fibroids Removal Now Easier With Robots

Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths of the uterus that often appear during the childbearing years in women. Also called fibromyomas, leiomyomas or myomas, uterine fibroids aren't associated with an increased risk of uterine cancer and almost never develop into cancer.

According to the Mayo Clinic, as many as three out of four women have uterine fibroids, but most are unaware of them because they often cause no symptoms. Medical therapy and surgical procedures can shrink or remove fibroids. Today, a robot is now making the procedure a whole lot easier. In the past women had to have a procedure and incision similar to that of a C-section, but with the use of this robot, doctors can now perform large surgeries with very small incisions. This incisions are considered minimally invasive surgery.

With this type of procedures, patients are sent home the same day, and feel very little discomfort, and have reported very little pain.

The removal of the uterine fibroids have allowed many women to conceived where they previously couldn't. With this type of procedure women can start conceiving almost immediately.

Robots connect doctors with patience

Have you ever been bed bound at a hospital wondering what is going on with you? While at the hospital did you wish you could connect with nurses and doctors, but all you had was the buzzer commonly ignore by many nurses at your fingertips.

Fear no more, you may be ill, but now you can connect with your doctor via teleconferencing. Baltimore's Sinai Hospital is one of the first hospital to have the robot which travels from patients' bed to patients' bed allowing doctors to communicate with patients while being away from the hospital.

The smart robot is able to reposition its two cameras giving the patient the illusion that the doctor is by their bedside while being anywhere around the world, thereby allowing the doctors to communicate with patients at anytime, day or night.

This is a breakthrough as doctors could keep updated by attending seminars and still able to make their regular rounds remotely.

Fantastic Voyage

I wasn't around in the 1960's, I did however spent quite a bit of time by making up for it by watching a lot of old movies and TV shows. Growing up I was a TV junkie, and still am today. Back then, however, I watch just about anything, but I favor sci-fi.

Today I read a story on how Israeli scientist have invented a microscopic robot which is injected into a human system to allow for diagnosis and perhaps treatment. Until recently the smallest robot tat had been built measured 1 centimeter (cm) and was developed at Kyoto University. The Israeli robot's diameter is one millimeter. This medical robot, which measures 1 millimeter in diameter, can even fight cancerous cells, the scientists speculate anyways. What is of interest is how the robot is able to grab a hold of the arterial walls and crawl it's way to the desired spot as manned by a human.

This robot very much reminded me of the movie Fantastic Voyage in which a team of scientist are shrunken down to perform brain surgery for a VIP, that is until one of the team members turns on them and wants to kill the patient. It was far fetch then, but almost a reality 40 odd years later. I think novels and movies are the basis for all genius ideas, hence why I still refuse to stop watching a movie no matter how stupid the premise. Who knows the next stupid movie could spark brilliance and make me a millionaire.