Triboelectric nanogenerator integrated origami gravity support device for shoulder rehabilitation using exercise gaming

Abstract

Patients with impaired upper limb and shoulder function need gravity support during their rehabilitation therapy. It could be beneficial to the patient if the gravity support device could also sustain rehabilitation tasks and exercises. Thus in this work we designed a gravity support device with integrated triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for shoulder rehabilitation. The gravity support part of the device was based on origami design. The rehabilitation tasks were based on the popular exercise-gaming approach, with the TENGs acting as self-powered sensors for the gaming task and energy harvesters for the exercise task. The origami was strategically designed with minimal but sufficient folds and a spring based support. The TENGs were also foldable with an output voltage of 35 Vp-p. The data acquisition and digitization circuit for gaming was miniaturized on a printed circuit board to fit snugly into the origami structure. The gravity support behavior of the origami was verified using electromyography sensors. Finally a pilot study was conducted with three stroke patients. Their upper-arm range of motion (ROM) was measured without any gravity-support and during the tasks. In the first task the patients played a table-tennis game which required minimal brain-arm coordination effort. In the second task the patients harvested energy by moving their arm as fast as possible. After the tasks, patient feedback was obtained for the effectiveness of the device, and the results suggested that they would be interested in using the device for home-based rehabilitation. Thus this work demonstrated a potential product for tele-rehabilitation which has gained prominence due to the ongoing pandemic.