Abstract
The paper proposes a stiffness measurement device composed of a measurement part that includes four indenters and an arm anchorage part that includes four linear servomotors. The device is able to make simultaneous stiffnesses measurements of the human forearm. An indenter using parallelogram mechanisms has two degrees-of-freedom and is designed to measure the stiffness at various locations. The kinematics of the parallelogram mechanism is computed to control the position of the indenters. Additionally, the admittance compensator for force control is designed so that the indenter can press the skin surface of the human forearm. According to the force level measured at loadcell installed on the indenter, the control is switched between pure position control and admittance control. Further, this device includes a two-axis potentiometer at the indenter endpoint. This potentiometer acts like a passive two degrees-of-freedom universal joint, allowing the indenter to press perpendicular to the measurement skin area. For this purpose, the mapping between the voltage output and the potentiometer angle was obtained by fitting for each axis. The proposed measurement device was tested for accuracy and repeatability. Ultimately, the measurement device was able to measure the stiffnesses of four regions of the human limb simultaneously.
Highlights
Human limbs are important for conducting various physical activities for daily life, but the number of amputees in the United States has been increasing steadily and is estimated to reach more than 3.6 million in 2050 [1]
A prosthetic socket is a component that connects the residual limb of the amputee to the prosthesis
The prosthetic socket is still handcrafted by a prosthetist, and it is difficult to maintain the quality of the sockets because there is no standardized method for their manufacturing yet
Summary
Human limbs are important for conducting various physical activities for daily life, but the number of amputees in the United States has been increasing steadily and is estimated to reach more than 3.6 million in 2050 [1]. As the number of amputees increases, prosthetic industries have introduced the improved technologies such as robotics and bionics. Prosthetic sockets have been studied in a variety of fields, including orthopedics, rehabilitation medicine, and medical engineering [2]–[6]. A prosthetic socket is a component that connects the residual limb of the amputee to the prosthesis. The prosthetic socket is still handcrafted by a prosthetist, and it is difficult to maintain the quality of the sockets because there is no standardized method for their manufacturing yet.
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