CAIRO (AP) — "Welcome to The Program!" Every week Egyptians obsessively tuned in to hear that slogan and watch groundbreaking TV political satirist Bassem Youssef flay their politicians. Some loved his biting humor, others were infuriated, but no one could ignore it. For four months, they've gone without him, his show kept off the air by turmoil surrounding the country's coup.
Now the man known as "Egypt's Jon Stewart" is back, returning to the air Friday night in a country radically different from four months ago.
When Youssef's final show of last season aired, the president was Islamist Mohammed Morsi — Youssef's favorite target. The satirist mocked him and his Islamist supporters mercilessly week after week for mixing religion and politics and for botching the governing of the country. Soon after the last show, massive protests began against Morsi, paving the way for the military to remove him.
Since then, divisions have grown deeper and hatreds stronger. Hundreds have been killed in crackdowns on protesters demanding Morsi's reinstatement. Attacks by Islamic extremists have increased. A nationalist, pro-military fervor is gripping the country, leaving little tolerance among the public or officials for criticism of the new leadership, with military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi lionized as a hero.
So the question hanging over Friday's episode of "El-Bernameg" — Arabic for "The Program": Will Youssef mock the military-backed leadership and its supporters as sharply as he did Morsi and the Islamists?
Doing so could anger Youssef's mainly liberal fan base, who adored the way he excoriated Islamists and who now largely support the military. But if he avoids it and focuses his jokes against Islamists, he could appear to be caving in to pressure. Morsi supporters — some of whom "hate-watched" Youssef as obsessively as his fans did — are already predicting the 39-year-old satirist will sell out.
In an article Tuesday, Youssef took up the challenge, criticizing the intimidating atmosphere.
"I admit things are much harder now," Youssef wrote in his weekly article in Al-Shorouk. "Not only because the raw material coming from religious stations or from Morsi has diminished," he quipped, referring to the rich vein of folly from Islamists he often mined for jokes — "but because the general mood is different."
"In reality, there is no tolerance on the Brotherhood side or among those who call themselves liberals. Everyone is looking for a pharaoh that suits them," he wrote.
He said military supporters tell him, "Don't talk about el-Sissi" — "even though they were the same ones waiting for me to talk about Morsi."
He noted that under Morsi's year-long presidency, Islamist critics sent him to the prosecution office for questioning on possible charges of insulting the presidency. "I may be visiting (it) again soon at the hands of other people, who allegedly love freedom dearly — when it works in their favor," he jabbed.
Most of all, he pointed to the difficulty of joking amid tragedy. "How do we come up with a comedy program when the talk all day is about blood?" he wrote. "When people live in fear, terror, hate and anger, no one listens to reason, let alone satire."
The surgeon-turned-comedian's form "Daily Show"-style program brought an entirely new type of political satire to Egypt. He began with short, independently made YouTube episodes during the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. His show was picked up by a TV station popular among young revolutionaries. As his star rose, he moved to another station, CBC, seen as stacked by former supporters of Mubarak.
Many thought Youssef would follow the station's conservative line. But he turned his jokes against his own station, mocking its claims of revolutionary credentials. With sky-high ratings bringing advertising cash, CBC was not about to drop him.
But his biggest target was the Islamist elite that rose to power in post-Mubarak elections — excoriating them so sharply that some credit him for fueling the tidal wave of protests against Morsi. In fast-paced jokes, Youssef lampooned Morsi's clumsy speeches and gestures. He played clips from Islamist TV stations to expose hypocrisy in their mix of religion and politics. He fact-checked the president. One episode in which he played video clips showing 2010 remarks by Morsi, calling Zionists "pigs," caused a brief diplomatic tiff with Washington.
In reply, Islamist lawyers tried to sue him for "corrupting morals" or "violating religious principles" and prompted the arrest warrant for "insulting the presidency." He was questioned by prosecutors and released without charges.
Naila Hamdy, a journalism professor at the American University in Cairo, said Youssef might go after the military-backed civilian government or satirize out-of-control pro-military fervor. But mocking the military directly is harder, given the public mood. "It is a very highly mobilized nationalist feeling in the country. Even Bassem Youssef would not want to go against that."
Social media have been buzzing. A Twitter hashtag of "#Joy" was started by fans for his return.
"Will he be like all the other media personalities or will he stand out?" tweeted one fan, referring to other media's unquestioning backing of the military.
One pro-Morsi protester, Mahmoud Mohammed said Friday he always watched Youssef "to know what the other camp is saying."
And he's convinced the comedian will stick to knocking Islamists and avoid the military. "The government repression is too heavy."
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2013, photo, House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., laughs as he walks to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. Forget a grand bargain. Reaching even a small budget deal will be a challenge when negotiators start meeting in an effort to salvage any kind of agreement in the aftermath of this month’s shutdown debacle and debt limit crisis. "If we focus on some big, grand bargain then we’re going to focus on our differences and both sides are going to require that the other side compromises some core principle and then we’ll get nothing done," Ryan, said in an interview on Oct. 24. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2013, photo, House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., laughs as he walks to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. Forget a grand bargain. Reaching even a small budget deal will be a challenge when negotiators start meeting in an effort to salvage any kind of agreement in the aftermath of this month’s shutdown debacle and debt limit crisis. "If we focus on some big, grand bargain then we’re going to focus on our differences and both sides are going to require that the other side compromises some core principle and then we’ll get nothing done," Ryan, said in an interview on Oct. 24. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — On this, GOP budget guru Rep. Paul Ryan and top Senate Democrat Harry Reid can agree: There won't be a "grand bargain" on the budget.
Instead, the Wisconsin Republican and the Nevada Democrat both say the best Washington can do in this bitterly partisan era of divided government is a small-ball bargain that tries to take the edge off of automatic budget cuts known as sequestration.
Official Capitol Hill negotiations start next week, but Ryan and Reid both weighed in Thursday to tamp down any expectations that the talks might forge a large-scale agreement where several previous high-level talks have failed.
Long-standing, entrenched differences over taxes make a large-scale budget pact virtually impossible, according to lawmakers, their aides and observers who will be monitoring the talks.
Republicans say they simply won't agree to any further taxes atop the 10-year, $600 billion-plus tax increase on upper-income earners that President Barack Obama and Democrats muscled through Congress in January. Without higher taxes, Democrats say they won't yield to cuts in benefit programs like Medicare.
"If we focus on some big, grand bargain then we're going to focus on our differences, and both sides are going to require that the other side compromises some core principle and then we'll get nothing done," Ryan, who chairs the House Budget Committee, said in an interview Thursday. "So we aren't focusing on a grand bargain because I don't think in this divided government you'll get one."
In an interview Thursday with Nevada public radio station KNPR, Reid, the Senate majority leader, agreed that a large-scale grand bargain wasn't in the cards.
"They have their mind set on doing nothing, nothing more on revenue, and until they get off that kick, there's not going to be a grand bargain," Reid said. "We're just going to have to do something to work our way through sequestration."
Ryan, his party's vice presidential nominee a year ago, and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., are two of the key congressional figures in the talks. They both say they're seeking common ground between the sharply different Republican and Democratic budgets.
Common ground, however, is a much different concept than compromise. It involves finding ideas upon which they can agree rather than compromising principles such as Republican opposition to tax increases or the unwillingness by many Democrats to consider cutting future Social Security benefits by decreasing the annual cost-of-living adjustments.
Instead of a broad agreement encompassing tax hikes and structural curbs on the growth of benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid, Ryan says he's seeking a "smaller, more achievable objective."
The talks, he said, also will focus on alleviating another upcoming round of automatic spending cuts and replacing them with longer-term cuts.
Sequestration mostly hits so-called discretionary spending, the money approved by Congress each year to run agency operations. Ryan wants to cut autopilot-like spending on entitlement programs like Medicare to ease sequestration's effects on both the Pentagon and domestic programs.
"I think we all agree that there's a smarter way to cut spending" than sequestration, Ryan said. "If I can reform entitlement programs where the savings compound annually ... that is more valuable for reducing the debt than a one-time spending cut in discretionary spending."
The White House and Democrats are pressing to include new revenue from closing tax loopholes and infrastructure spending to boost the economy.
"Even if we do not have the big grand bargain, if you were to have a medium deal or small deal, those deals could have permanent loophole closures and permanent mandatory savings that would help our permanent long-term fiscal situation," senior White House official Gene Sperling told a business group Friday.
The automatic spending cuts are required because a 2011 deficit-reduction supercommittee failed to reach an agreement. The cuts would carve $91 billion from the day-to-day budgets of the Pentagon and domestic agencies in 2014 compared with the spending caps set by a 2011 budget deal. The Pentagon would absorb almost 60 percent of the cuts.
While the first official meeting of the larger House-Senate negotiating team is scheduled for next week, Ryan and Murray have been talking already.
Republicans are looking at a bushel basket of cuts to Medicare health care providers contained in Obama's budget. They also have voiced support for curbing Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, an idea Obama has backed, but only in the context of a broader deal in which Republicans would allow tax increases. That proposal won't fly in the current talks.
There are also several supercommittee ideas like curbing Postal Service cost overruns, making federal workers contribute more to their pensions and raising premiums on higher-income Medicare beneficiaries.
Democrats, meanwhile, are wary of using cuts to Medicare and other entitlement programs to ease cuts in the defense budget. Negotiators still might explore curbing generous military retirement, health care and prescription drug benefits as a way to restore cuts to readiness and procurement of weapons systems.
"Congressional Democrats and the White House, rightly in my view, don't want to use domestic entitlement cuts to offset easing or eliminating the defense side of sequestration on top of the nondefense discretionary side," said Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday urged Mozambique's government and the Renamo opposition movement to "move back from the brink" and take steps to quell an escalation in tensions that many worry could disrupt the country's strong economic growth.
The Renamo former rebel group declared on Monday it was terminating a 1992 peace accord that ended a 1975-1992 civil war, complaining that government forces overran base of opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama in the Gorongosa forest.
"We are deeply concerned by the escalation in violence between government security forces and members of the opposition party Renamo," said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf. "We are encouraging the two parties to take visible and decisive steps to de-escalate the current tense environment."
Mozambique media reported on Tuesday that suspected Renamo guerrillas fired on a police station at Maringue, just north of the Gorongosa district, but no casualties were reported.
Asked whether the attack could provoke more violence, Harf said: "We are deeply concerned by this violence and this escalation and are urging all sides to take steps to move back from the brink and de-escalate what has been happening."
Dhlakama, who has struggled to recover from a string of election defeats by the ruling Frelimo party, is widely regarded as a spent political force with little power to drag the country back into a civil war.
He has complained that the Frelimo-led government has monopolized political and economic power.
Mozambique's economy is set to grow by 7 percent this year - one of the fastest in Africa - and investors such as Brazil's Vale, London-listed Rio Tinto, Italy's Eni and U.S. oil firm Anadarko are working to develop some of the world's largest untapped coal and gas reserves.
Renamo raids in April and June in central Mozambique had already caused alarm. They killed at least 11 soldiers and police and six civilians and forced a temporary suspension of coal exports sent by rail to the coast.
(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Christopher Wilson)
A mechanic repairs a bike at Calmera bike shop in Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 19. As car sales slump across Europe, bicycle sales in Spain are outpacing cars — a trend seen across much of Europe.
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images
A mechanic repairs a bike at Calmera bike shop in Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 19. As car sales slump across Europe, bicycle sales in Spain are outpacing cars — a trend seen across much of Europe.
Indeed, earlier this month, NPR's Lauren Frayer reported that Spain, which has long had a love affair with cars, is embracing the bicycle: For the first time on record, Lauren noted, bicycles outsold cars in the country.
But it's becoming a continent-wide phenomenon. More bikes were sold in Italy than cars — for the first time since World War II.
This prompted us to look at the figures across the 27 member states of the European Union for both cars and bicycles. New car registrations for Cyprus and Malta weren't available, so we took them out of the comparison.
Here's what we found: bicycle sales outpaced new car sales last year in every one of those countries, except Belgium and Luxembourg. The top five countries by bicycle sales can be seen in the top chart.
We decided to delve a little deeper into the figures and see which of these countries had the highest rates of bicycle-to-car ownership. Those states can be seen in the second chart.
So, what explains the numbers?
Part of the data can be explained by the slump in car sales across Europe. Car sales reached a 20-year low earlier this year. More recent figures showed they were recovering.
Samsung reported that its Q3 operating profit surged 26% to 10.2 trillion won (about $9.6 billion), but continued to warn that its smartphone sales will slow thanks to increased competition. Its earnings growth was driven mainly by Samsung’s chip business profit, which doubled to 2.06 trillion won, the highest in three years, thanks to stronger chip prices this year after a fire last month at one of competitor SK Hynix’s Chinese plants created a shortage in a key component. Demand for chips was driven by mobile devices, servers and the release of new game consoles.
Samsung’s mobile division reported a record 6.7 trillion won, thanks to growing shipment volumes of its inexpensive smartphone models, which balanced slowing sales of high-end handsets like the Galaxy S4 and Note 3. The company warned that demand for its smartphones will slowdown during the upcoming holiday season, due to competition from other devices (such as Apple’s iPhone) as well as tighter margins as it ramps up spending on yearend advertising and marketing. Samsung says it expects to see smartphone shipments grow about 1% to 5% in the current quarter from the previous quarter.
Samsung has now reported record profits in six of the past seven quarters, but the South Korean tech giant has also warned investors over the past year to expect a slump in mobile sales thanks to the slowing global smartphone market and increased competition. Its most recent product launches are also unlikely to be major growth drivers. Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch got a lukewarm response from consumers and its curved smartphone, the Galaxy Round, will have a limited launch in Korea only.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California community is anguished over the fatal shooting by a deputy of a popular, 13-year-old boy who had been carrying a pellet gun that looked like an assault rifle.
A Sonoma County sheriff's deputy twice asked the boy, Andy Lopez, to drop the weapon, but instead he raised it in their direction, police said at a news conference Wednesday.
"The deputy's mindset was that he was fearful that he was going to be shot," said Santa Rosa Police Lt. Paul Henry, whose agency is investigating the Tuesday afternoon shooting in Santa Rosa.
Only after the shooting did deputies realize the gun was a plastic replica that looked strikingly similar to a real AK-47 assault rifle, authorities said.
Residents of Santa Rosa, a suburban town of roughly 170,000 people about 50 miles northwest of San Francisco in California's wine country, were shaken by the boy's death.
Hundreds marched on Wednesday night to remember the teen and protest the shooting, chanting "We need justice," as they questioned how the deputy mistook a pellet gun for an assault rifle.
"We don't know the reason why they killed him," Katia Ontiveros, 18, told the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa. She said her brother was Andy's friend. "They should know if a gun is real."
The marchers went to the site at the edge of a field where the boy was shot. Community members had left candles, teddy bears and flowers there.
Andy, an eighth-grade student who played trumpet in his school band, was described as a bright and popular student, liked by many in his community, including Lawrence Cook Middle School assistant principal Linsey Gannon.
"Andy was a very loved student, a very popular, very handsome young man, very smart and capable," Gannon said Wednesday. "Our community has been rocked by his loss."
In a statement, Sheriff Steve Freitas said the shooting was a "tragedy" and that he would do everything he could to ensure the investigation was thorough and transparent.
"As a father of two boys about this age, I can't begin to imagine the grief this family is going through," he said.
Two deputies were riding in a marked patrol vehicle and were in their patrol uniforms when they spotted the teen in a hooded sweatshirt and shorts around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said. His back was turned toward the deputies, and they did not realize he was a boy.
One of the deputies saw what appeared to be an assault-style rifle similar to an AK-47 in his left hand. The deputies pulled over and took cover behind an open passenger door, according to police.
A witness reported seeing their lights go off and hearing the chirp of a siren, police said.
One of the deputies ordered Andy to drop the weapon twice, according to a witness, police said. There was no language barrier that would have prevented the boy from understanding the deputy, according to police.
Andy was about 20 or 30 feet away from the deputies with his back toward them when he began turning around with what one deputy described as the barrel of the assault rifle rising up and turning in his direction, police said.
The deputy then fired several rounds, striking the boy at least once, Henry said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
At Wednesday's news conference, Santa Rosa police displayed the pellet gun.
Deputies also found a plastic handgun in the boy's waistband, police said.
The pellet gun did not have an orange tip like other replica firearms, including the plastic handgun found in the boy's waistband, police said.
The deputies, who have not been identified, have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard after a shooting, sheriff's officials said.
The boy's family was back at their mobile home Tuesday night after identifying the teen's body, the Press Democrat reported.
Andy's father, Rodrigo Lopez, told the newspaper he last saw his son Tuesday morning. He said the gun was a toy that belonged to a friend of his son's.
"I told him what I tell him every day," he said in Spanish. "Behave yourself."
___
Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemocrat.com
NIH funds development of novel robots to assist people with disabilities, aid doctors
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
24-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Margot Kern NIBIBPress@mail.nih.gov 301-496-3500 NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering
Robots enhance mobility for visually and physically impaired, improve treatment for atrial fibrillation
Three projects have been awarded funding by the National Institutes of Health to develop innovative robots that work cooperatively with people and adapt to changing environments to improve human capabilities and enhance medical procedures. Funding for these projects totals approximately $2.4 million over the next five years, subject to the availability of funds.
The awards mark the second year of NIH's participation in the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), a commitment among multiple federal agencies to support the development of a new generation of robots that work cooperatively with people, known as co-robots.
"These projects have the potential to transform common medical aids into sophisticated robotic devices that enhance mobility for individuals with visual and physical impairments in ways only dreamed of before," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "In addition, as we continue to rely on robots to carry out complex medical procedures, it will become increasingly important for these robots to be able to sense and react to changing and unpredictable environments within the body. By supporting projects that develop these capabilities, we hope to increase the accuracy and safety of current and future medical robots."
NIH is participating in the NRI with the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NIH has funded three projects to help develop co-robots that can assist researchers, patients, and clinicians.
A Co-Robotic Navigation Aid for the Visually Impaired: The goal is to develop a co-robotic cane for the visually impaired that has enhanced navigation capabilities and that can relay critical information about the environment to its user. Using computer vision, the proposed cane will be able to recognize indoor structures such as stairways and doors, as well as detect potential obstacles. Using an intuitive human-device interaction mechanism, the cane will then convey the appropriate travel direction to the user. In addition to increasing mobility for the visually impaired and thus quality of life, methods developed in the creation of this technology could lead to general improvements in the autonomy of small robots and portable robotics that have many applications in military surveillance, law enforcement, and search and rescue efforts. Cang Ye, Ph.D., University of Arkansas at Little Rock (co-funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Eye Institute)
MRI-Guided Co-Robotic Active Catheter: Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat that can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. By purposefully ablating (destroying) specific areas of the heart in a controlled fashion, the propagation of irregular heart activity can be prevented. This is generally achieved by threading a catheter with an electrode at its tip through a vein in the groin until it reaches the patient's heart. However, the constant movement of the heart as well as unpredictable changes in blood flow can make it difficult to maintain consistent contact with the heart during the ablation procedure, occasionally resulting in too large or too small of a lesion. The aim is to develop a co-robotic catheter that uses novel robotic planning strategies to compensate for physiological movements of the heart and blood and that can be used while a patient undergoes MRIan imaging method used to take pictures of soft tissues in the body such as the heart. By combining state-of-the art robotics with high-resolution, real-time imaging, the co-robotic catheter could significantly increase the accuracy and repeatability of atrial fibrillation ablation procedures. M. Cenk Cavusoglu, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland (funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering)
Novel Platform for Rapid Exploration of Robotic Ankle Exoskeleton Control: Wearable robots, such as powered braces for the lower extremities, can improve mobility for individuals with impaired strength and coordination due to aging, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, or stroke. However, methods for determining the optimal design of an assistive device for use within a specific patient population are lacking. This project proposes to create an experimental platform for an assistive ankle robot to be used in patients recovering from stroke. The platform will allow investigators to systematically test various robotic control methods and to compare them based on measurable physiological outcomes. Results from these tests will provide evidence for making more effective, less expensive, and more manageable assistive technologies. Stephen G. Sawicki, Ph.D., North Carolina State University, Raleigh; Steven Collins, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (co-funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Science Foundation)
These projects are supported by the grants EB018117-01; EB018108-01; NR014756-01; from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), the National Eye Institute (NEI), and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and by award #1355716 from the National Science Foundation.
For details about projects funded by NSF, please see the announcement, National Robotics Initiative invests $38 million in next-generation robotics.
A program announcement, soliciting for NRI applications for fiscal year 2014, has recently been published: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14500/nsf14500.htm. In 2014, the participating NIH institutes are interested in targeting this solicitation to support the development of assistive robotic technology to achieve functional independence in humans; improve quality of life; assist with behavioral therapy and personalized care; and promote wellness/health.
###
About the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB): NIBIB's mission is to support multidisciplinary research and research training at the crossroads of engineering and the biological and physical sciences. NIBIB supports emerging technology research and development within its internal laboratories and through grants, collaborations, and training. More information is available at the NIBIB website: http://www.nibib.nih.gov.
About the National Eye Institute (NEI): NEI leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov
About the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): NINR supports basic and clinical research that develops the knowledge to build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevent disease and disability, manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness, and enhance end-of-life and palliative care. For more information about NINR, visit the website at http://www.ninr.nih.gov
About the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): NINR supports basic and clinical research that develops the knowledge to build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevent disease and disability, manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness, and enhance end-of-life and palliative care. For more information about NINR, visit the website at http://www.ninr.nih.gov.
About the National Science Foundation (NSF): The NSF is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly. http://www.nsf.gov
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): The NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NIH funds development of novel robots to assist people with disabilities, aid doctors
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
24-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Margot Kern NIBIBPress@mail.nih.gov 301-496-3500 NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering
Robots enhance mobility for visually and physically impaired, improve treatment for atrial fibrillation
Three projects have been awarded funding by the National Institutes of Health to develop innovative robots that work cooperatively with people and adapt to changing environments to improve human capabilities and enhance medical procedures. Funding for these projects totals approximately $2.4 million over the next five years, subject to the availability of funds.
The awards mark the second year of NIH's participation in the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), a commitment among multiple federal agencies to support the development of a new generation of robots that work cooperatively with people, known as co-robots.
"These projects have the potential to transform common medical aids into sophisticated robotic devices that enhance mobility for individuals with visual and physical impairments in ways only dreamed of before," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "In addition, as we continue to rely on robots to carry out complex medical procedures, it will become increasingly important for these robots to be able to sense and react to changing and unpredictable environments within the body. By supporting projects that develop these capabilities, we hope to increase the accuracy and safety of current and future medical robots."
NIH is participating in the NRI with the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NIH has funded three projects to help develop co-robots that can assist researchers, patients, and clinicians.
A Co-Robotic Navigation Aid for the Visually Impaired: The goal is to develop a co-robotic cane for the visually impaired that has enhanced navigation capabilities and that can relay critical information about the environment to its user. Using computer vision, the proposed cane will be able to recognize indoor structures such as stairways and doors, as well as detect potential obstacles. Using an intuitive human-device interaction mechanism, the cane will then convey the appropriate travel direction to the user. In addition to increasing mobility for the visually impaired and thus quality of life, methods developed in the creation of this technology could lead to general improvements in the autonomy of small robots and portable robotics that have many applications in military surveillance, law enforcement, and search and rescue efforts. Cang Ye, Ph.D., University of Arkansas at Little Rock (co-funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Eye Institute)
MRI-Guided Co-Robotic Active Catheter: Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat that can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. By purposefully ablating (destroying) specific areas of the heart in a controlled fashion, the propagation of irregular heart activity can be prevented. This is generally achieved by threading a catheter with an electrode at its tip through a vein in the groin until it reaches the patient's heart. However, the constant movement of the heart as well as unpredictable changes in blood flow can make it difficult to maintain consistent contact with the heart during the ablation procedure, occasionally resulting in too large or too small of a lesion. The aim is to develop a co-robotic catheter that uses novel robotic planning strategies to compensate for physiological movements of the heart and blood and that can be used while a patient undergoes MRIan imaging method used to take pictures of soft tissues in the body such as the heart. By combining state-of-the art robotics with high-resolution, real-time imaging, the co-robotic catheter could significantly increase the accuracy and repeatability of atrial fibrillation ablation procedures. M. Cenk Cavusoglu, Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland (funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering)
Novel Platform for Rapid Exploration of Robotic Ankle Exoskeleton Control: Wearable robots, such as powered braces for the lower extremities, can improve mobility for individuals with impaired strength and coordination due to aging, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, or stroke. However, methods for determining the optimal design of an assistive device for use within a specific patient population are lacking. This project proposes to create an experimental platform for an assistive ankle robot to be used in patients recovering from stroke. The platform will allow investigators to systematically test various robotic control methods and to compare them based on measurable physiological outcomes. Results from these tests will provide evidence for making more effective, less expensive, and more manageable assistive technologies. Stephen G. Sawicki, Ph.D., North Carolina State University, Raleigh; Steven Collins, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (co-funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Science Foundation)
These projects are supported by the grants EB018117-01; EB018108-01; NR014756-01; from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), the National Eye Institute (NEI), and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and by award #1355716 from the National Science Foundation.
For details about projects funded by NSF, please see the announcement, National Robotics Initiative invests $38 million in next-generation robotics.
A program announcement, soliciting for NRI applications for fiscal year 2014, has recently been published: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14500/nsf14500.htm. In 2014, the participating NIH institutes are interested in targeting this solicitation to support the development of assistive robotic technology to achieve functional independence in humans; improve quality of life; assist with behavioral therapy and personalized care; and promote wellness/health.
###
About the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB): NIBIB's mission is to support multidisciplinary research and research training at the crossroads of engineering and the biological and physical sciences. NIBIB supports emerging technology research and development within its internal laboratories and through grants, collaborations, and training. More information is available at the NIBIB website: http://www.nibib.nih.gov.
About the National Eye Institute (NEI): NEI leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov
About the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): NINR supports basic and clinical research that develops the knowledge to build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevent disease and disability, manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness, and enhance end-of-life and palliative care. For more information about NINR, visit the website at http://www.ninr.nih.gov
About the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): NINR supports basic and clinical research that develops the knowledge to build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevent disease and disability, manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness, and enhance end-of-life and palliative care. For more information about NINR, visit the website at http://www.ninr.nih.gov.
About the National Science Foundation (NSF): The NSF is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly. http://www.nsf.gov
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): The NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Share