Haptic perception by metabolic, toxic and/or immunologic factors. Examples of medical conditions that can cause neuropathies are diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, thyroid dysfunction (hyper- and hypothyroidism) as well as hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and alcohol dependency. Loss of the sense of touch is a catastrophic deficit that can impair walking and other skilled actions such as holding objects or using tools. Immersive environments can recreate the feeling of haptic interaction. Exoskeletal gloves such as the Exo-Skin Soft Haptic exoskeletal interface, developed at Drexel University, can be programmed to take a patient through a program of physical therapy exercises to retrain muscles and
Haptic technology a Boston University paper published in "The Lancet", "Noise-based devices, such as randomly vibrating insoles, could also ameliorate age-related impairments in balance control." If effective, affordable haptic insoles were available, perhaps many injuries from falls in old age or due to illness-related balance-impairment could be avoided. In February 2013, an inventor in the United States built a "spider-sense" bodysuit, equipped with ultrasonic sensors and haptic feedback systems, which alerts the wearer of incoming threats; allowing them to respond to attackers even when blindfolded. During a laparoscopic surgery the video camera becomes a surgeon's eyes, since the surgeon uses the image