Birds, Butterflies and Medtech?
A bird experiment in the late 1940’s led to one of the first medical uses of electrical engineering. Could Medtech history be in the making from the latest scientific explanation of how butterflies fly?
First, the brief backstory about a Japanese researcher’s experiment on a bird’s wing that stirred the imagination of Dr. Yoshio Ogino. As a result, he founded Nihon Kohden in 1951 to develop sophisticated electronic advancements that would revolutionize the way healthcare professionals fought disease. Does electroencephalogram (EEG) sound familiar? With its invention and others, the company became a leader in the precision medical products field.
As for the aerodynamics of butterflies, it’s surprising they even get off the ground given their extreme wing shape—large and broad compared to their little bodies. Not very efficient say the scientists.
According to a recent CNN news report, “The creatures’ wings form a cupped shape during the upstroke and ‘clap,’ thrusting the butterfly forward.” What looks like the wings are slamming together is actually the wings coming together to form a pocket shape which captures more air and propels the butterfly forward. Since robotic clappers tested the efficiency of flexible wings and found they increased performance by 28%, could this discovery trigger another inventor’s imagination?