Movement Assisting Devices: Manufacturing of personalized Kineto-Dynamics parts and products for workers, elderly and children

Project Information

MovAiD

Grant agreement ID: 680754

DOI

10.3030/680754

Project closed

EC signature date 20 July 2015

Start date 1 September 2015

End date 31 August 2018

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Advanced manufacturing and processing

Total cost

€ 5 954 375,00

EU contribution

€ 5 136 875,00

Coordinated by

CHAS A BLATCHFORD AND SONS LIMITED
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MovAiD (Movement Assisting Devices: Manufacturing of personalized Kineto-Dynamics parts and products for workers, elderly and children)

Reporting period: 2017-03-01 to 2018-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

MovAiD is a cross-disciplinary Horizon 2020 project joining a consortium of 13 partners of industry and academia. It aims at developing novel and advanced technologies for future customisation of orthotic products for better and more accelerated fitting. This promises capabilities of local and central manufacturing of Movement Assistive Devices (MAD), i.e. passive and highly personalised wearable equipment assisting disabled children, elderly and workers in their everyday activities.

For the customisation and manufacturing of the Movement Assistive Devices (MAD) the following key processes have been developed:

• Dynamic user scanning approach and method using state-of-the-art affordable devices
• Automated modelling & design tools to help creation of personalised devices (compliance to body contour and dynamic aspects)
• Integration platform including intelligent supply chain management that manages the full data flow from body scan to delivery of the device, spare parts as well as service support
• Embedded sensors to assist with assessment and monitoring of the device
• Creation of advanced materials solutions for personalised orthotic devices
• Additive manufacturing capabilities on local and central level to enable the design and manufacturing of this new generation of devices and potentially the bespoke orthotics industry

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Thus far, MovAiD has achieved the following main results:

• Creation and Validation of the IT infrastructure for a Total Body Avatar, Integration platform and smartphone application
• Finalisation and Validation of Smart materials and structures to support functions and specific features of customisation for the MAD devices
• Finalisation and Validation of MAD design specifications, modelling & design tools
• Prototyping of local and central additive manufacturing machines
• Completion of dissemination and business exploitation activities
• Prototyping of different mockup and demonstrators using the MovAiD platform of advanced technologies able to generate fully personalised products
• Final verification and validation of the total flow of process: data gathering, design process and manufacturing of personalised orthotic devices

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The long-term vision of MovAiD is to promote development of smart, innovative and cost-competitive solutions and technologies. This can enable a new generation Movement Assistive Devices as well as increase the competitiveness of the European manufacturing industry.

The Movement Assistive Device concept is a fusion of passive exoskeleton concept for selected populations with conventional orthoses. The approach taken sees a solution similar to the exoskeletons but using more mechanical components and applying the personalised fit of orthotics. Such devices can bridge the gap between exoskeletons and classic orthotic devices and represent highly personalised solutions tailored to the user’s body geometry and movement.
The MovAiD consortium envisages that the Movement Assistive Devices may greatly impact the future of each of its target groups:

• The elderly:
o benefit of more secure, stable gait effectively
o lead to the reduction in the number of falls
o improve their overall wellbeing
o reduce financial pressure on the national healthcare systems

• The workers:
o offload the joints of the workers
o lead to less injury in the EU workplaces
o increase the overall effectiveness of their work,
o increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of the EU industry

• Children with neuromuscular disease:
o increase mobility
o enable to perform problematic physical activities for longer
o enable to perform activities with more ease

Considering those three target cases and different requirements the knee-ankle-foot-orthosis (KAFO) has been chosen to act as test case to demonstrate the viability of above.

Core Concept