CardioVR-ReTone—Robotic Exoskeleton for Upper Limb Rehabilitation following Open Heart Surgery: Design, Modelling, and Control

Bogdan Mocan,Radu Comes,Mihaela Mocan,Claudiu Schonstein,Mircea Fulea,Calin Neamtu,Mircea Murar

doi:10.3390/sym14010081

Abstract

Following cardiac surgery, patients experience difficulties with the rehabilitation process, often finding it difficult, and therefore lack the motivation for rehabilitation activities. As the number of people aged 65 and over will rise by 207 percent globally by 2050, the need for cardiac rehabilitation will significantly increase, as this is the main population to experience heart problems. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a new robotic exoskeleton concept with 12 DoFs (6 DoFs on each arm), with a symmetrical structure for the upper limbs, to be used in the early rehabilitation of cardiac patients after open-heart surgery. The electromechanical design (geometric, kinematic, and dynamic model), the control architecture, and the VR-based operating module of the robotic exoskeleton are presented. To solve the problem of the high degree of complexity regarding the CardioVR-ReTone kinematic and dynamic model, the iterative algorithm, kinetic energy, and generalized forces were used. The results serve as a complete model of the exoskeleton, from a kinematic and dynamic point of view as well as to the selection of the electric motors, control system, and VR motivation model. The validation of the concept was achieved by evaluating the exoskeleton structure from an ergonomic point of view, emphasizing the movements that will be part of the cardiac rehabilitation.

Highlights

Providing structured exercise and education to cardiac patients in an organized manner, determining medical risk reduction, means cardiac rehabilitation (CR)
We present the design of a full upper limb robotic exoskeleton augmented by a virtual reality (VR) non-immersive module for the rehabilitation of patients following open-heart surgery or a major cardiac event
The kinematic control functions of the serial structure of type 6R were determined based on the inverse of the Jacobian matrix

Summary

Introduction

Providing structured exercise and education to cardiac patients in an organized manner, determining medical risk reduction, means cardiac rehabilitation (CR). A proper rehabilitation program is required to enable cardiac patients to live independently and improve their quality of life (QoL) as they age [2]. To increase joint range of motion (ROM), reinforce muscles, restore cardiac functional capabilities, and resolve deficiencies, most of these rehabilitation treatments require sessions of rehabilitation therapy [3]. Integrating human and robotic-machine capabilities into a single system opens up a vast range of new possibilities for assistive technology development. Members of both the healthy and cardiac populations may benefit from its potential uses. Muscle weakness is the leading cause of impairment in people with a range of cardiac diseases (e.g., those requiring open-heart surgery) or neuromuscular diseases [4,5]. Even after restoring strength and function to the Reference/Year

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Discussion

Conclusion