Precise Automatic Nail Trimmer to Aid Foot Care of the Elderly

 描述(由申请人提供)：据估计，65岁以上的人中有三分之一的人身体上无法修剪自己的脚趾甲，77%的受访者承认在完成这项日常足病健康的基本任务方面存在困难。平均而言，从55岁开始，肩部外展和髋关节屈曲每十年减少5到7度，从70岁开始，每年减少1度以上。这种灵活性的降低，再加上视力和运动控制能力的下降，导致脚成为老年人最被忽视的身体部位之一。足疗对于患有关节炎和其他疾病的老年人来说尤其危险，这会导致脚的敏感度降低。而联邦医疗保险 服务覆盖了患有有限并发症的老年人的常规足部护理，覆盖范围的要求使许多老年人很难获得这项服务，占所有服务的四分之一 对剪脚趾甲提出的索赔缺乏足够的文件来支持保险。与美甲相关的联邦医疗保险覆盖范围估计为每年9680万美元，频繁的专业、非联邦医疗保险覆盖的指甲切割服务变得越来越昂贵，对老年人来说也越来越不方便。负责这项服务的直接护理员在安全舒适地修剪指甲方面面临着巨大的困难。对于柔韧性有限的患者、指甲增厚或经历震颤的患者，这一点尤其适用。随着指甲变化和疾病的频率随着年龄的增长而增加，缺乏常规的指甲护理已被证明增加了受伤、疼痛、感染和其他并发症的风险，显著降低了活动能力，并增加了跌倒的频率。对目前可用于帮助老年人修剪指甲的技术的调查显示，效果有限，现有的解决方案仍然需要大幅弯曲才能到达他们的脚趾，或者需要足够的力量来挤压安装在长杠杆手臂上的剪刀。通过提供高精度、安全、自动的指甲修剪解决方案，促进常规足部护理，存在着支持老年人及其照顾者的未得到满足的需求。为了提供准确、优化的解决方案，并在确保安全的同时减少与这项任务的斗争，ASTER Labs，Inc.提议构建一种无需手动的机器人指甲修剪系统，以帮助老年人和倾向于足部护理的护理人员。其目标是通过提供一种系统，准确地修剪用户的脚趾甲T医学推荐的长度和轮廓，同时利用先进的图像处理和数据库技术来提供指甲健康的初步总体评估，从而减轻老年人和其他灵活性和机动性有限的人的负担、身体压力和情感压力。该系统设计包括多个冗余安全功能，以便在患者希望或检测到脚趾显著移动时快速停止，以及在设备使用期间优化舒适性的功能。通过为老年人和护理人员提供一种新颖、技术先进但实用的脚趾甲护理工具，他们将能够在自己的家或护理设施舒适的情况下按需访问，增加足部护理的规律性。对于这一创新的概念设计，ASTER实验室将利用光学和红外图像处理技术，以及数据指纹算法，创建高度独特但实用的解决方案，用于准确的家庭脚趾甲护理 老年人。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): An estimated 1 in 3 people over age 65 are physically unable to cut their own toenails, and 77% of those surveyed admit to difficulty in performing this essential task for routine podiatric health. On average, shoulder abduction and hip flexion decrease 5 to 7 degrees per decade from age 55, and over a degree per year from age 70. This reduced flexibility combined with diminished eyesight and motor control result in feet being one of the most neglected body parts for the elderly. Pedicures are particularly risky and dangerous for elders with arthritis and other afflictions causing reduced sensitivity in feet. While Medicare services cover routine foot care for seniors with a limited set of complications, requirements for coverage have made it difficult for many older adults to receive this service, and a quarter of all claims filed for toenail cutting lack adequate documentation to support coverage. Nail-related Medicare coverage equates to an estimated $96.8 million each year, and frequent professional non-Medicare-covered nail cutting services become increasingly costly and inconvenient for seniors. Direct caregivers tasked with performing this service face great difficulty in safely and comfortably trimming the nail. This is especially true caring for patients with limited flexibility thickened toenails, or who experience tremors. As nail changes and disorders increase in frequency with age, lack of routine nail care has been shown to heighten risk of injury, pain, infection, and other complications, significantly reduce mobility, and increase fall frequency. Surveys of currently available technologies to assist the elderly with nail trimming show limited results, and existing solutions still require substantial bending to reach their toes, or sufficien strength to squeeze clippers attached to long lever arms. There exists an unmet need to support older adults and their caregivers by providing a high precision, safe, automatic nail trimming solution that facilitates routine foot care. To provide an accurate, optimized solution and reduce struggle with this task, while ensuring safety, ASTER Labs, Inc. proposes to construct a hands-free robotic nail trimming system to assist the elderly and caregivers who tend to podiatric care. The goal is to reduce burden, physical strain, and emotional stress on elderly adults and others with limited flexibility and mobility by providing a system that accurately trims users' toenails t medically-recommended lengths and contours, while also utilizing advanced image processing and databasing techniques to provide a preliminary general assessment of nail health. The system design includes multiple redundant safety features for rapid cessation if desired by the patient or if significant toe movement is detected, as well as features to optimize comfort during device use. By providing seniors and caregivers with a novel, technically advanced, but practical toenail care tool, they will have on-demand access within the comfort of their own homes or care facilities, increasing the regularity of foot care. For this innovative concept design, ASTER Labs will utilize optical and infrared image processing techniques, as well as data fingerprinting algorithms, to create a highly unique, but practical solution for accurate in-home toenail care for the elderly.