University of Michigan College of Engineering

In low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), fewer than half the people requiring rehabilitation for injuries receive the care that they need. In Ghana, for example, approximately 650,000 people live with wrist and hand injuries that are left untreated. One of the reasons for that is the high cost of assistive medical devices. The William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan is dedicated to developing creative ways of helping people in LMICs to thrive. One of its current projects is a 3D-printed hand-rehabilitation device that costs a fraction of conventional devices. The GripForté is a lightweight, 3D-printed hand rehabilitation device that costs only $14.77 to produce. It weighs 1.5 pounds and has a variable design to accommodate a range of exercises including grip, flexion, and pinching. The hope is that the 3D-printed device will allow individuals in Ghana and other LMICs to access the rehabilitative care they need. Students identify unmet need A student team at the University of Michigan initially identified the unmet need in Ghana, and a team of undergraduate mechanical engineering students then designed an initial prototype with input from a Ghanaian physical medicine and rehabilitation physician. The original design was made of wood and cost $1,477 to create in Ghana. Additional issues presented themselves: The device was too heavy and it used rubber bands to create resistance. Rubber bands are not readily available in Ghana. WDI routinely collaborates with local and national firms, University of Michigan students and faculty, and experts in a variety of fields. To address this particular issue, it enlisted the help of two aerospace engineers within the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering. That led to the development of a device using a 3D printer, solving the issues of cost and weight. It also included 3D-printed springs that could be swapped out to increase or decrease resistance. Positive patient and therapist feedback WDI has been working independently and with its partner in Ghana to solicit feedback on the device’s functionality — and the feedback has been highly positive thus far, both from patients and physical therapists. WDI continues to work to improve the device, with goals to reduce the cost to under $10 and the weight to under one pound. The organization also intends to 3D print the device’s bolts as well as springs with increased elasticity, plus add new, alternative panels with different exercises. Finally, it is exploring the idea of using recycled PET to print the device, reducing both cost and waste. Image courtesy of William Davidson Institute WDI President Paul Clyde (left) and University of Michigan Engineering graduate student David Sharp work on the GripForté device. “The ability to print equipment and components on demand using 3D printing is a huge benefit for the healthcare industry — especially in situations that call for high degrees of customization, which is the case with many medical applications,” said Claire Hogikyan, WDI vice president, administration, and project lead on the GripForté device. “From 3D-printed devices for surgical procedures to creating pop-up labs to print equipment, we see tremendous opportunity using 3D-printing technology.” Hogikyan points out that in LMICs, small things can easily disable medical equipment due to a lack of resources — an MRI machine may be out of commission for months waiting for a simple clip to be replaced. Injuries may also go untreated due to a lack of available splints. The healthcare practice group at WDI has made it its goal to identify new ways to improve both the quality of and access to healthcare in LMICs, and 3D printing is playing a large part in reaching that goal.

Rather than being solely detrimental, cracks in the positive electrode of lithium-ion batteries reduce battery charge time, research shows. This runs counter to the view of many electric vehicle manufacturers, who try to minimize cracking because it decreases battery longevity. Rather than being solely detrimental, cracks in the positive electrode of lithium-ion batteries reduce battery charge time, research done at the University of Michigan shows. This runs counter to the view of many electric vehicle manufacturers, who try to minimize cracking because it decreases battery longevity. "Many companies are interested in making 'million-mile' batteries using particles that do not crack. Unfortunately, if the cracks are removed, the battery particles won't be able to charge quickly without the extra surface area from those cracks," said Yiyang Li, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and corresponding author of the study published in Energy and Environmental Sciences. "On a road trip, we don't want to wait five hours for a car to charge. We want to charge within 15 or 30 minutes." The team believes the findings apply to more than half of all electric vehicle batteries, in which the positive electrode -- or cathode -- is composed of trillions of microscopic particles made of either lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide or lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide. Theoretically, the speed at which the cathode charges comes down to the particles' surface-to-volume ratio. Smaller particles should charge faster than larger particles because they have a higher surface area relative to volume, so the lithium ions have shorter distances to diffuse through them. However, conventional methods couldn't directly measure the charging properties of individual cathode particles, only the average for all the particles that make up the battery's cathode. That limitation means the widely accepted relationship between charging speed and cathode particle size was merely an assumption. "We find that the cathode particles are cracked and have more active surfaces to take in lithium ions -- not just on their outer surface, but inside the particle cracks," said Jinhong Min, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering working in Li's lab. "Battery scientists know that the cracking occurs but have not measured how such cracking affects the charging speed." Measuring the charging speed of individual cathode particles was key to discovering the upside to cracking cathodes, which Li and Min accomplished by inserting the particles into a device that is typically used by neuroscientists to study how individual brain cells transmit electrical signals. "Back when I was in graduate school, a colleague studying neuroscience showed me these arrays that they used to study individual neurons. I wondered if we can also use them to study battery particles, which are similar in size to neurons," Li said. Each array is a custom-designed, 2-by-2 centimeter chip with up to 100 microelectrodes. After scattering some cathode particles in the center of the chip, Min moved single particles onto their own electrodes on the array using a needle around 70 times thinner than a human hair. Once the particles were in place, Min could simultaneously charge and discharge up to four individual particles at a time on the array and measured 21 particles in this particular study. The experiment revealed that the cathode particles' charging speeds did not depend on their size. Li and Min think that the most likely explanation for this unexpected behavior is that larger particles actually behave like a collection of smaller particles when they crack. Another possibility is that the lithium ions move very quickly in the grain boundaries -- the tiny spaces between the nanoscale crystals comprising the cathode particle. Li thinks this is unlikely unless the battery's electrolyte -- the liquid medium in which the lithium ions move -- penetrates these boundaries, forming cracks. The benefits of cracked materials are important to consider when designing long-lived batteries with single-crystal particles that don't crack. To charge quickly, these particles may need to be smaller than today's cracking cathode particles. The alternative is to make single-crystal cathodes with different materials that can move lithium faster, but those materials could be limited by the supply of necessary metals or have lower energy densities, Li said. The device was built in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility and studied at the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization. The research was funded by LG Energy Solution, Battery Innovation Contest and the University of Michigan College of Engineering.

Investment provides resources to organizations working to increase civic engagement in and support reproductive rights in communities of color BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Katz Amsterdam charitable entities, today announced $5.25 million in civic engagement grants to be awarded to 29 community-based organizations in six focus states. Each grantee was chosen for their work to strengthen civic engagement within BIPOC communities and how they are developing and implementing community-driven strategies. Katz Amsterdam also awarded an additional $2 million in grants to 11 organizations supporting women's reproductive rights. Rob Katz, executive chairperson of the board, Vail Resorts, Inc., and his wife, Elana Amsterdam, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Elana's Pantry, launched the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust in 2017 and the Katz Amsterdam Foundation in 2018 to be a catalyst for eliminating barriers to health, increasing access to opportunity, protecting basic rights and improving outcomes for all communities, with particular focus on communities of color. "These civic engagement grants are an important investment in supporting new generations of civic leaders, deepening civic participation and supporting steps for more equitable outcomes," said Rob Katz, Katz Amsterdam founder. "We selected these outstanding organizations for their civic engagement mission and focus on serving their communities, and we look forward to seeing how they promote and inspire civic engagement where it is needed most." Through grant-making, Katz Amsterdam aim to support voting rights and long-term efforts that build infrastructure promoting civic engagement and cultivating positive change by: Investing in organizations and leaders working to prevent harmful voter suppression measures at the state and federal level. Working to reduce barriers for BIPOC communities to access opportunities to vote by improving election administration. Supporting strategies that educate voters and increase voter participation in elections. The 2022 civic engagement grantees are: ARIZONA Black Phoenix Organizing Collective - $100,000 Arizona Center for Empowerment - $200,000 One Arizona - $150,000 GEORGIA Black Voters Matter - $200,000 Fair Fight Action - $200,000 New Georgia Project - $200,000 Pro Georgia - $150,000 MICHIGAN Michigan United - $200,000 Mothering Justice - $200,000 We The People – MI - $200,000 Michigan Voices - $150,000 Michigan Donor Alliance - $100,000 NEVADA Asian Community Development Council - $200,000 Make It Work Nevada - $200,000 Make the Road Nevada - $200,000 Silver State Voices - $150,000 NORTH CAROLINA Down Home North Carolina - $200,000 North Carolina Asian Americans Together - $200,000 You Can Vote - $200,000 Blueprint NC - $150,000 Imagine NC - $100,000 WISCONSIN Black Leaders Organizing for Communities - $200,000 NATIONAL All Voting is Local - $200,000 Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC - $200,000 Mi Familia Vota - $200,000 The Partnership Funds - $200,000 Protect the Sacred - $200,000 Movement Voter Project - $200,000 Way to Rise - $200,000 Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Katz and Amsterdam have awarded an additional $2 million to 11 organizations supporting women's reproductive rights. "We believe strongly that every woman should be able to make her own healthcare choices – and that all reproductive services, including abortion, should be readily available," said Rob Katz. "Reproductive freedom is a basic human right. We are stung by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision. They dismantled a constitutional right all women counted on for nearly 50 years which will have devastating impacts, particularly in communities of color. We hope these funds will help deserving and important organizations serve women and families in their healthcare choices." Organizations receiving reproductive rights grants include: National Network of Abortion Funds - $500,000 SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective - $350,000 National Abortion Federation - $250,000 Planned Parenthood Federation of America - $200,000 Spark Reproductive Justice NOW - $150,000 Cobalt Foundation – Cobalt Abortion Fund - $125,000 National Women's Health Network, Plan C Pills - $125,000 The Afiya Center - $100,000 Just the Pill - $75,000 If/When/How - $75,000 Apiary for Practical Support - $50,000 With this current round of civic engagement and reproductive rights grants, Katz Amsterdam has provided more than $39 million in funding since 2017. For more information on the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust and Foundation, visit katzamsterdam.org. About the Katz Amsterdam Foundation The Katz Amsterdam Foundation strives to be a catalyst for eliminating barriers to health, increasing access to opportunity, protecting basic human rights and improving outcomes for all. The Foundation believes that everyone benefits from living in healthy and cohesive communities, but access to these benefits is unequal. KAF works in partnership with communities to advance just and equitable approaches to accessing mental and behavioral health care and protect civil rights by increasing civic engagement and participation in a multiracial democracy. The Foundation does this work by addressing systemic injustice and the root causes behind racial gaps in health and well-being. KAF's priority is to support community-driven work that meaningfully improves the lives of individuals and the social well-being of our communities. For more information, visit . Media Contact: Wendy Artman GroundFloor Media M: 920-819-8968 E: [email protected] SOURCE Katz Amsterdam Foundation