Abstract
Due to the ageing population and an increasing number of stroke patients, we see the potential future of rehabilitation in telerehabilitation, which might alleviate the workload of physiotherapists and occupational therapists. In order to enable the use of telerehabilitation, devices aimed for home and independent use need to be developed. This paper describes the design of a robotic device for post-stroke wrist and finger rehabilitation and evaluates the movement it can perform. Six healthy subjects were tested in three experimental conditions: performing a coupled movement of wrist and fingers from flexion to extension without the device, with a passive device, and with an active device. The kinematics of the hand were captured using three Optotrak Certus motion capture systems and tracking 11 infrared active light-emitting diode (LED) markers. The results are presented in the form of base-line trajectories for all middle finger (MF) joints. In addition, the deviations of trajectories between conditions across all subjects were computed for the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint and fingertip of the MF and pinkie (PF) finger. Deviations from the base-line trajectory between measurement protocols and the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values indicate that the motion of the hand, imposed by the developed device, is comparable to the unconstrained motion of the healthy subjects, especially when moving into the extension, opening the hand.
Highlights
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability among adults worldwide, with its relative incidence doubling every ten years after age 55 [1,2,3]
Due to the ageing population and an increasing number of stroke patients, we see the potential future of rehabilitation in telerehabilitation, which might alleviate the workload of physiotherapists and occupational therapists
This paper describes the design of a robotic device for post-stroke wrist and finger rehabilitation and evaluates the movement it can perform
Summary
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability among adults worldwide, with its relative incidence doubling every ten years after age 55 [1,2,3]. The reduction or loss of functional abilities is one of the most common consequences of stroke. It can cause, among others, motor and movement impairments, such as loss of coordination, strength and skills, reduced ability of fractionated movement, abnormal muscle tone, and paresis [1,4,5,6,7]. Even though a stroke usually affects both extremities on one side of the body, regaining or improving the upper limb function is more problematic than for the lower limb. Improvements in the lower limb function and regaining the ability to walk are expected in 75–83% of patients [8]
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