Robotic Hand Exoskeletons for Rehabilitation and Assistance: A State-of-the-Art

Abstract

Abstract Chronic hemiparesis and dystonic changes caused by a stroke are the main causes of the loss and decline of the human hand function, and the number of patients with hand dysfunction is increasing worldwide, seriously affecting their activities of daily living. Robotic medical devices such as robotic hand exoskeletons have been investigated to help restore and improve the hand function of these patients. In comparison with traditional therapies, robotic hand exoskeletons have the advantages of providing a controllable assistive force/torque, recording the wearer's motion data, and improving the wearer?s voluntary participation and motivation in the rehabilitation, which can improve the hand rehabilitation efficiency. This paper presents a systematic review of robotic hand exoskeletons. First, the biomechanics of a human hand is introduced. Next, the design concepts of robotic hand exoskeletons are proposed, which include the actuator design and configuration, human-machine kinematic compatibility, and design of degrees of freedom. Additionally, the control strategies of robotic hand exoskeletons are described. Finally, the limitations of the currently available robotic hand exoskeletons and their possible future research and development directions are discussed, thus providing useful information for the engineers and researchers to develop robotic hand exoskeletons with practical and plausible applications.