Össur (Iceland)

Music is one of humanity’s oldest cultural expressions and plays a central role in individual formation. In the context of High School education, its curricular inclusion represents a powerful pedagogical tool capable of expanding students’ cognitive, affective, and social dimensions. This article aims to analyze the importance of music in formal education, emphasizing its impact on learning, aesthetic sensitivity, and the construction of cultural and identity values. The research is qualitative, with a bibliographical and exploratory approach, based on authors such as Penna (2018), Loureiro (2014), Schafer (2011), and Swanwick (2003). It concludes that music in High School transcends mere artistic practice, becoming an interdisciplinary and formative instrument that promotes creative expression, critical development, and the humanization of the educational process.

Silicone is widely used in medical devices due to its mechanical properties and biocompatibility; however, microbial contamination of silicone surfaces, which can lead to nosocomial infections, remains a significant concern. This can be countered by surface modification using techniques commonly involving oxidative plasma activation or ozone treatments, followed by treatment with silanization agents. Here, we report an alternative surface modification procedure involving treatment with non-toxic organic hydroxyl amines or diamine dissolved in eco-friendly solvents, thus avoiding using reactive and potentially harmful compounds and not requiring specialized equipment. Our findings demonstrate that ethanolamine in isopropanol effectively activates silicone without compromising its tensile strength, making it ideal for further modification. The activated surfaces showed stable amino group areal concentrations over a 10-day period, confirmed by fluorescence imaging and ninhydrin assays. Subsequent treatments with glutaraldehyde and chitosan enhanced the antibacterial properties of the silicone. Chitosan-coated silicone significantly reduced Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria colony-forming units (CFUs), with Enterococcus faecalis CFUs decreasing from 7.1 to 3.7 Log10 CFU/mL. This study introduces a sustainable activation technique for silicone surfaces, resulting in medical devices with improved resistance to microbial colonization while maintaining their mechanical integrity.

Traditional tuning methods of assistance parameters rely on the experience of human experts but often fail to achieve optimal performance. Human-in-the-loop optimization improves parameter selection but requires extensive in-lab testing. In this study, we rigorously tested two control parameters, early stance knee flexion angle (5° to 12°) and swing initiation timing (55% to 65% of the gait cycle), with ten individuals with transfemoral amputation using a commercially available robotic prosthetic knee, Össur Power Knee, and a passive foot, Pro-Flex LP. We measured energy expenditure, joint work, and user preferences during treadmill walking. Results showed a 15.6% reduction in metabolic rate with stance flexion decreasing from 12° to 5° (p<0.05). User preferences favored lower stance flexion and personalized swing initiation. Personalized-best settings reduced the metabolic rate by 4.1% (stance flexion) and 9.8% (swing initiation) compared to the best-on-average settings (p<0.05). These reductions were also significant when compared to the device default and clinically tuned settings (p<0.05). We proposed an offline learning approach using anthropometric, gait, and prosthesis-related data to estimate optimal settings, yielding a 7.1% reduction in metabolic rate (p<0.05). Our results suggest that this approach achieves comparable energy efficiency without lengthy experiments, enabling automatic parameter tuning with initial measurements.

Deploying machine vision for wearable robot control faces challenges in terms of usability, reliability, privacy, and costs.

Accurate and timely diagnosis of musculoskeletal conditions is an essential component of high-quality orthopaedic care. The proximity of the shoulder to the cervical spine leads to a multitude of pathologic conditions whose clinical presentations overlap, posing a diagnostic challenge to orthopaedic providers. Missed or delayed diagnosis of the etiology for patient-described 'shoulder pain' causes frustration among patients, incurs increased healthcare costs, and delays treatment. Moreover, patients with concurrent conditions of the cervical spine and shoulder require deliberate consideration for how each condition contributes to patients' symptoms. The purpose of this review was to describe a systematic approach for evaluating and differentiating pathologies of the shoulder and cervical spine.

The main goal of the Symbitron project was to develop a safe, bio-inspired, personalized wearable exoskeleton that enables SCI patients to walk without additional assistance, by complementing their remaining motor function. Here we give an overview of major achievements of the projects.

Challenges exist with the provision of appropriate mobility assistive devices in rural areas. The use of the direct manufacturing prosthetic socket system is a possible solution to these challenges. The objective of this study was to test and explore the clients' perspectives with the application of this device. Within a mixed-methods approach, a longitudinal sequential explanatory design was applied. The Orthotic and Prosthetic User's Survey was administered to explore the use of the direct manufacturing prosthetic socket system in terms of function, health-related quality of life and client satisfaction. A conveniently selected sample of 21 individuals who suffered a unilateral trans-tibial amputation was included. Data were collected at 1, 3 and 6 months post fitting, and two focus group discussions were also administered. Of the 21 participants recruited, 11 returned for follow up. Although participants reported favourably about the prosthesis, their scores were generally worse than the norms with regard to function and quality of life. Participants highlighted the need for improvement in the cosmetic appearance of the prosthesis. The direct manufacturing prosthetic socket system could be considered as an alternative technique of socket manufacturing for individuals living in rural areas due to the shorter manufacture time and promising initial results, but further research on this topic with a bigger sample is recommended. Clinical relevance The direct manufacturing prosthetic socket system may be considered as an alternative to the traditional prosthetic socket manufacturing technique used in South Africa. As this device requires only one visit and therefore decreased travel by the patients to the hospitals, it could be applicable to more amputees who cannot return to hospital post discharge.