Abstract
Early social reintegration of patients with disabilities of the wrist is possible with the help of dedicated rehabilitation equipment. Using such equipment reduces the duration of recovery and reduces significantly rehabilitation costs. Based on these considerations the paper puts forward a novel constructive solution of rehabilitation equipment that ensures the simultaneous passive mobilization of the radiocarpal, metacarpophalangeal, and interphalangeal joints. The novelty of this equipment consists in the bioinspired concept of the hand support based on the Fin-Ray effect and in driving it by means of a pneumatic muscle, an inherently compliant actuator. The paper places an emphasis on the compliant character of the rehabilitation equipment that is responsible for its adaptability to the concrete conditions of patient pain tolerability.
Highlights
The hand, with its 27 bones of the palm skeleton and the fingers, qualifies as the most complicated osteoarticular segment of the human body
Extended repose of the joints leads to muscle hypertrophy or even atrophy, to bone demineralization and dysfunctions of the circulatory apparatus
Hand Mentor is a stroke rehabilitation device that provides active assistance. It moves the patient like a skilled physical therapist, and is designed for recovering the gripping ability of the hand [17]. Another example of rehabilitation equipment is the EXOWRIST, using four pneumatic muscle actuators to undertake the 2-degrees-of-freedom movements performed by the human wrist
Summary
The hand, with its 27 bones of the palm skeleton and the fingers, qualifies as the most complicated osteoarticular segment of the human body. Conception of pneumatic muscle actuated rehabilitation equipment for hand joints is still in its incipient stage as to date merely few published patents are known and just a small number of prototypes or functional equipment One such piece of equipment is the. It moves the patient like a skilled physical therapist, and is designed for recovering the gripping ability of the hand [17] Another example of rehabilitation equipment is the EXOWRIST, using four pneumatic muscle actuators to undertake the 2-degrees-of-freedom movements performed by the human wrist. Starting from the current state of available rehabilitation equipment for the joints of the hand and given the necessity of further developing such light, portable, affordable, and reliable systems benefitting from a compliant behavior this paper pots forward a novel constructive solution able to mobilize simultaneously both wrist and finger joints. The fourth section presents the experimental results and the last section is dedicated to the conclusions of the discussed study
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