{"id":171412,"date":"2025-10-31T17:22:04","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T23:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=171412"},"modified":"2025-11-11T13:59:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T19:59:23","slug":"dina-soft-robot-newborn-brachial-plexus-injury-rehabilitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/health\/dina-soft-robot-newborn-brachial-plexus-injury-rehabilitation\/","title":{"rendered":"DINA: The soft robot helping newborns with brachial plexus injury recover movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“Brachial plexus injury” is not a term we hear every day. For many people, this may be the first time they read it. Yet this relatively common condition, which can occur during childbirth, may leave lasting consequences on a child\u2019s mobility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the goal of offering a more accessible and safer treatment alternative for this condition, a group of researchers, including Ana Paula P\u00e9rez<\/strong><\/a>, EXATEC<\/a>, graduate of Biomedical Engineering<\/strong><\/a> from the School of Engineering and Sciences<\/a> at Tec de Monterrey, developed DINA<\/a> <\/strong>(Dynamic Infant Neurorehab Aid), a robot designed to support the rehabilitation of newborns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brachial plexus<\/a> is a network of nerves that originates in the neck and extends toward the shoulder. It’s part of the network that allows the brain to control the movements of hands, wrists, and arms. These nerves are especially vulnerable during childbirth: in breech or large-baby deliveries, they often overstretch as the baby exits the birth canal, leading to injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long-term, this damage can cause limited mobility, chronic pain, or loss of sensation. However, if diagnosed in time, early rehabilitation can considerably reduce its consequences. That’s where DINA comes in, a soft robot that performs the necessary movements to promote brachial plexus recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\r\n \r\n \"Prototype\r\n <\/picture>
The DINA robot prototype uses a soft structure that performs controlled movements on the newborn’s arm. (Photo: Courtesy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How DINA was born<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DINA began as a project in the Neurorehabilitation Engineering class of the Biomedical Engineering master’s program at Johns Hopkins University, where Ana Paula P\u00e9rez, V\u00edctor Ticllacuri<\/a>, Yuxuan Bai, and Michela De Marzi<\/a> collaborated. The team decided to focus on this injury due to its low diagnosis rate in Latin American countries, such as Peru, where Ticllacuri is from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We might see a person who can’t move their arm due to a birth problem, but was never diagnosed because there were no specialists capable of performing this type of rehabilitation,” explains Ticllacuri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United States, it’s estimated that between one or two out of every thousand births present this complication, according to Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\r\n \r\n \"Members\r\n <\/picture>
The DINA team developed a soft robot capable of supporting the rehabilitation of newborns with brachial plexus injuries. (Photo: Courtesy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Technology inspired by natural movement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To design DINA, the team first modeled the movement of a newborn’s arm. They then consulted with specialists from the Kennedy Krieger Institute, in the US, who indicated the key movement for rehabilitation: rotating the arm from inside out, with the elbow immobilized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this information, they developed several prototypes. To guarantee the device’s safety, they opted for a soft structure, where movements are not generated by screws or pistons, but by the extraction of air inside the robot. This way, contact with the baby is gentle and controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team aims for hospitals to offer<\/strong> these devices for families to use at home. “Being a first-time mother is already stressful. Adapting to this new life with a neonate with complications and, additionally, performing a rehabilitation process without supervision several times a day can be overwhelming,” says Ana Paula P\u00e9rez. “DINA is designed to alleviate that burden on mothers, fathers, and caregivers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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