Title

Robotics Addressing Human Needs:

An Innovative Approach to Peripheral Nerve Paralysis

Abstract

The expansion of robotics into healthcare has seen rapid growth, addressing challenges such as limb amputation, nerve paralysis, and overcoming age-related physical and cognitive decline. However, much of this development operates under a seeds-driven approach, often overlooking the subjective experiences of patients and healthcare providers. As a result, many technologies fail to see real-world implementation.

To overcome this challenge, a needs-driven approach is advocated. This approach begins with identifying challenges from healthcare providers, including physicians, and patients. While high-tech solutions are prevalent in modern medicine, the nature of healthcare is empirical, and challenges are often presented abstractly. Engineers must analyze these challenges quantitatively, clarify needs, propose solutions through a combination of seeds, and optimize through collaboration with healthcare providers and patients.

Needs-driven development necessitates collaboration between healthcare providers and engineers with diverse backgrounds and roles. Through this collaboration, diverse perspectives are integrated, resulting in practical and effective products and systems.

In this presentation, we explore the importance of needs-driven medical technology development, focusing on the treatment of peripheral nerve paralysis. We discuss the unique challenges and opportunities presented by the peripheral nervous system and highlight the role of engineering in optimizing treatment outcomes. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the principles of needs-driven development and its potential impact on healthcare innovation.