An Affordable Upper-Limb Exoskeleton Concept for Rehabilitation Applications

Emanuele Palazzi,Luca Luzi,Rudy Vicario,Eldison Dimo,Rocco Vertechy,Andrea Calanca,Matteo Meneghetti,Rafael Ferro Luzia

doi:10.3390/technologies10010022

Emanuele Palazzi, Luca Luzi + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies10010022

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Abstract

In recent decades, many researchers have focused on the design and development of exoskeletons. Several strategies have been proposed to develop increasingly more efficient and biomimetic mechanisms. However, existing exoskeletons tend to be expensive and only available for a few people. This paper introduces a new gravity-balanced upper-limb exoskeleton suited for rehabilitation applications and designed with the main objective of reducing the cost of the components and materials. Regarding mechanics, the proposed design significantly reduces the motor torque requirements, because a high cost is usually associated with high-torque actuation. Regarding the electronics, we aim to exploit the microprocessor peripherals to obtain parallel and real-time execution of communication and control tasks without relying on expensive RTOSs. Regarding sensing, we avoid the use of expensive force sensors. Advanced control and rehabilitation features are implemented, and an intuitive user interface is developed. To experimentally validate the functionality of the proposed exoskeleton, a rehabilitation exercise in the form of a pick-and-place task is considered. Experimentally, peak torques are reduced by 89% for the shoulder and by 84% for the elbow.

Highlights

Exoskeletons can be designed for power amplification [1], neuromuscular impairment compensation [2,3] and rehabilitation [4,5] and to support disabled people in activities of daily living (ADL) [6]
The vast majority of existing devices are cost prohibitive for most people, preventing any personal or domestic use. Starting from these considerations, this paper introduces a low-cost exoskeleton concept developed for the rehabilitation of the upper limb
After a brief literature review on the available exoskeletons (Section 1), the present paper focuses on the proposed exoskeleton design—including the mechanics and electronics—and briefly describes advanced rehabilitation features (Section 2)

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Exoskeletons are mechanical structures that are mostly employed in industrial and rehabilitation fields. Mechanical structures are used to help the operator to execute heavy tasks. Rehabilitation requires structures that help the patient to restore or recover lost motion abilities. Exoskeletons can be designed for power amplification [1], neuromuscular impairment compensation [2,3] and rehabilitation [4,5] and to support disabled people in activities of daily living (ADL) [6]

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