Devices For Upper Limb Rehabilitation Research Articles

Design and Control of Upper Limb Rehabilitation Training Robot Based on a Magnetorheological Joint Damper.

In recent years, rehabilitation robots have been developed and used in rehabilitation training for patients with hemiplegia. In this paper, a rehabilitation training robot with variable damping is designed to train patients with hemiplegia to recover upper limb function. Firstly, a magnetorheological joint damper (MR joint damper) is designed for the rehabilitation training robot, and its structural design and dynamic model are tested theoretically and experimentally. Secondly, the rehabilitation robot is simplified into a spring-damping system, and the rehabilitation training controller for human movement is designed. The rehabilitation robot dynamically adjusts the excitation current according to the feedback speed and human-machine interaction torque, so that the rehabilitation robot always outputs a stable torque. The magnetorheological joint damper acts as a clutch to transmit torque safely and stably to the robot joint. Finally, the upper limb rehabilitation device is tested. The expected torque is set to 20 N, and the average value of the output expected torque during operation is 20.02 N, and the standard deviation is 0.635 N. The output torque has good stability. A fast (0.5 s) response can be achieved in response to a sudden motor speed change, and the average expected output torque is 20.38 N and the standard deviation is 0.645 N, which can still maintain the stability of the output torque.

Implementation of wearable device for upper limb rehabilitation using embedded IoT

Implementation of wearable device for upper limb rehabilitation using embedded IoT

Development of Hexagonal Pyramid-Shaped Flexible Actuator with Anisotropic Stiffness for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Device

Rehabilitation devices for passive exercise have been actively researched and developed in accordance with Japan’s aging society. A previous study proposed and tested an extension-type flexible pneumatic actuator (EFPA) with reinforced stiffness that could achieve passive exercise in patients. In addition, a rehabilitation device for shoulder joints with an embedded controller and small valves was proposed and tested. Joints such as the shoulder and scapula were subjected to passive exercise utilizing the tested device. However, it is difficult for patients with contractions to perform the same exercise because the reinforced EFPA can buckle. Here, to realize an EFPA with a higher stiffness, a flexible actuator in the shape of a hexagonal pyramid is proposed and tested. The hexagonal pyramid shape of a flexible actuator has a high stiffness in the direction of motion and flexibility in other directions; hereafter, this characteristic is called anisotropic stiffness. The characteristics of the hexagonal pyramid shape of the EFPA are described and compared with those of a previously reinforced EFPA. An analytical model was proposed to predict and design the shape of the hexagonal pyramid EFPA. The validity of the model is also described.

A Wearable Device for Upper Limb Rehabilitation and Assistance Based on Fluid Actuators and Myoelectric Control

Wearable exoskeleton solutions for upper limb rehabilitation or assistance, particularly for the hand area, have become increasingly attractive to researchers, proving to be effective over time in treating hand movement impairments following various neurological diseases. Our aim in the present work is to design a wearable exoskeleton device for active hand rehabilitation/assist control based on myoelectric signal (EMG) capture from forearm muscles, which is easy to wear by the user, comfortable, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive to make. The actuators use two different lengths to increase biocompatibility with the anatomy of the hand, and PneuNets fluid actuators are used. Their design to meet force and bending requirements was based on finite element numerical simulations, and the actuators were designed based on a clear design methodology to achieve the best possible quality. Tests on healthy subjects show that the EMG-based control strategy meets the needs of rehabilitation/assistive hand therapy, finding a comfortable and easy-to-use device. Future directions will focus on developing the device to meet rehabilitation needs for the entire upper limb and integrating the device into virtual reality (VR) through immersive devices.

Dimensional synthesis of cost-effective devices for upper limb rehabilitation

El objetivo principal de este proyecto es la construcción de dispositivos de rehabilitación para miembros superiores con base al análisis físico y morfológico de los movimientos predeterminados que se ejecutan en una terapia de rehabilitación. Para este desarrollo se aplicaron tres métodos de generación de trayectorias, analíticos y gráfico, los cuales permiten obtener diversas soluciones para cada uno de los métodos utilizados; soluciones que son analizadas y comprobadas con el fin de construir un dispositivo de rehabilitación que cumpla con movimientos y trayectorias establecidas para generar una rehabilitación total o parcial del paciente que lo requiera. Se obtienen tres dispositivos mecánicos de rehabilitación capaces de ejercer un movimiento optimo orientado a disminuir el trabajo repetitivo y continúo realizado por los profesionales de la salud en terapias de rehabilitación.

Development and simulation of a device for upper limb rehabilitation

Robotics with exoskeletons has opened a new era of research in the field of modern rehabilitation and assistive technologies. The technology promises to improve the functionality of the upper limbs, which are necessary for daily operations. Exoskeleton technology is developing rapidly but requires interdisciplinary research to solve technical problems such as kinematic compatibility and the development of effective human-robot interaction. This article presents a new design of a device that helps to rehabilitate the upper extremities. The proposed design is characterized by a lightweight structure with an adaptable geometry for various users with low cost and easy to wear characteristics. The CAD model is developed for design details and for modeling, the results of which provide data on the feasibility of the proposed design and its characteristics in the main operational characteristics.

Development of an Adaptable 3D Rigged Model for the Design of Bespoke Devices for Upper Limb Rehabilitation

Computer-Aided Design and Applications is an international journal on the applications of CAD and CAM. It publishes papers in the general domain of CAD plus in emerging fields like bio-CAD, nano-CAD, soft-CAD, garment-CAD, PLM, PDM, CAD data mining, CAD and the internet, CAD education, genetic algorithms and CAD engines. The journal is aimed at all developers and users of CAD technology to ptovide CAD solutions for various stages of design and manufacturing. The journal publishes all about Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided technologies.

Robot-aided Rehabilitation with SREx: A Smart Robotic Exoskeleton for Reducing Therapists' Physical Stress

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> Upper limb dysfunctions (ULD) are common following a neurological insult. Passive range of motion (PROM) exercise of the affected extremity is one of the critical components of current rehabilitation plans of care when treating these patients. Robot-aided rehabilitation is a promising technology for this and comes with the added advantage of reducing therapists' physical burden. This study describes the development of a robot-aided upper limb rehabilitation device, 7 degrees of freedom exoskeleton type robot named SREx. It also shows the preliminary testing results on healthy participants with emulated ULD patients. <h3>Design</h3> Experimental study. <h3>Setting</h3> In the BioRobotics Lab. <h3>Participants</h3> Five healthy male human subjects (age: 26-30 years) participated in this study. <h3>Interventions</h3> Healthy human subjects (n=5) wore the SREx on the lateral side of their right hands while being seated on chair. Isolated, composite joint PROM sessions containing slower, medium, and faster speed cycles. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> Tests were carried out in three settings: (a) subject exerts no effort, (b) resistance to motion equivalent to patient with generalized spasticity resulting from ULD, and (c) sudden jerking/ perturbation during motion emulating real patients' muscle spasm. During all exercises human-robot interaction was measured with force-torque sensor. Collected ROM data was statistically analyzed. <h3>Results</h3> The robot was able to provide therapeutic PROM to all subjects' UL with a maximum ROM error of ∼3.6 degrees even under external perturbation of force at 6.8 lbs. The preliminary testing showed that the robot was able to provide PROM exercise without the need for physical intervention from anyone else, in an effective manner for emulated patient conditions. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The SREx can provide safe and measurable PROM exercises to healthy patients. The next step is to receive feedback from individuals suffering from ULD. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Active cooling of twisted coiled actuators via fabric air channels.

Twisted coiled actuators (TCAs) are promising artificial muscles for wearable soft robotic devices due to their biomimetic properties, inherent compliance, and slim profile. These artificial muscles are created by super-coiling nylon thread and are thermally actuated. Unfortunately, their slow natural cooling rate limits their feasibility when used in wearable devices for upper limb rehabilitation. Thus, a novel cooling apparatus for TCAs was specifically designed for implementation in soft robotic devices. The cooling apparatus consists of a flexible fabric channel made from nylon pack cloth. The fabric channel is lightweight and could be sewn onto other garments for assembly into a soft robotic device. The TCA is placed in the channel, and a miniature air pump is used to blow air through it to enable active cooling. The impact of channel size on TCA performance was assessed by testing nine fabric channel sizes-combinations of three widths (6, 8, and 10 mm) and three heights (4, 6, and 8 mm). Overall, the performance of the TCA improved as the channel dimensions increased, with the combination of a 10 mm width and an 8 mm height resulting in the best balance between cooling time, heating time, and stroke. This channel was utilized in a follow-up experiment to determine the impact of the cooling apparatus on TCA performance. In comparison to passive cooling without a channel, the channel and miniature air pump reduced the TCA cooling time by 42% ( s to s, ). Unfortunately, there was also a 9% increase in the heating time ( s to s, ) and a 28% decrease in the stroke ( mm to mm, ). This work demonstrates that fabric cooling channels are a viable option for cooling thermally actuated artificial muscles within a soft wearable device. Future work can continue to improve the channel design by experimenting with other configurations and materials.

Experiences of patients who had a stroke and rehabilitation professionals with upper limb rehabilitation robots: a qualitative systematic review protocol

IntroductionEmerging evidence suggests that robotic devices for upper limb rehabilitation after a stroke may improve upper limb function. For robotic upper limb rehabilitation in stroke to be successful, patients’ experiences...

Architectural design and development of an upper-limb rehabilitation device: a modular synthesis approach

Purpose Enormous assistance is required during rehabilitation activities, which might result in a variety of complications if performed manually. To solve this issue, several solutions in the form of assistive devices have been presented recently. Another issue highlighted is the lack of kinematic compatibility in low degrees-of-freedom (dof) systems. The proposed approach of developing a human-motion-oriented rehabilitation device deals with the problem through hybrid architectures. A novel modular synthesis approach is used for the purpose to induce generality in the design process. Materials and methods Using a modular strategy, three planar hybrid configurations are generated for two-dof mechanisms for supporting flexion/extension motion. Three such architectures are optimally synthesised and kinematically analysed over the entire workspace. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to synthesise the architecture parameters optimally. Moreover, the outcomes are evaluated against a set of seven poses and posture locations of the wrist to choose the most suitable configuration among the others. Subsequently, kinematic compatibility is analysed for the coupled system – formed by the selected architecture and the human arm – while wearing the proposed mechanism. Results According to the findings of optimal synthesis, workspace and singularity analysis, configuration-III is capable of achieving the optimal postures for all task space locations (TSLs). Further, the work modifies the design by attaching additional three revolute passive joints for correcting misalignment concerns using coupled mobility analysis. Conclusion The modular strategy for hybrid architectures and the subsequent mobility analysis provides an algorithmic framework for synthesising a task-based rehabilitation device. IMPLICATIONS OF REHABILITATION Manual physiotherapy is reported as repeated task, expensive and time-consuming, and considered stressful for the therapist or assistants to provide one-on-one physiotherapy to each patient in the traditional method. Robotic rehabilitation is, therefore, a viable option. In the several reported works on robotic rehabilitation exoskeletons, misalignment of the exoskeleton and the human motion is considered an open challenge. Normally, it is being managed through large number of degrees of freedom, which is certainly expensive and complex in control. The proposed approach of developing a human-motion-oriented rehabilitation device deals with the problem through hybrid architectures and modular strategy to develop them. While focusing upon the emulation of natural human motion trajectory, the compatibility of orthotic joint and human joint motion needs attention. As biological joint possesses complex kinematic characteristics, closed-loops are used in the design. Overall, a complete framework of a cost effective low-dof rehabilitation device is proposed and detailed through coupled analysis.

User Participatory Design of a Wearable Focal Vibration Device for Home-Based Stroke Rehabilitation.

Stroke often leads to the significant impairment of upper limb function and is associated with a decreased quality of life. Despite study results from several interventions for muscle activation and motor coordination, wide-scale adoption remains largely elusive due to under-doses and low user compliance and participation. Recent studies have shown that focal vibration has a greater potential to increase and coordinate muscle recruitment and build muscle strength and endurance. This form of treatment could widely benefit stroke survivors and therapists. Thus, this study aimed to design and develop a novel wearable focal vibration device for upper limb rehabilitation in stroke survivors. A user participatory design approach was used for the design and development. Five stroke survivors, three physical therapists, and two occupational therapists were recruited and participated. This pilot study may help to develop a novel sustainable wearable system providing vibration-based muscle activation for upper limb function rehabilitation. It may allow users to apply the prescribed vibratory stimuli in-home and/or in community settings. It may also allow therapists to monitor treatment usage and user performance and adjust the treatment doses based on progression.

An FPGA-Based Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Device for Gesture Recognition and Motion Evaluation Using Multi-Task Recurrent Neural Networks

Upper-Extremity motor impairment affects millions of Americans due to cerebrovascular incidents, spinal cord injuries, or brain trauma. Current therapy practices used to assist these individuals in regaining motor functionality often require extensive time at rehabilitation facilities with potentially prohibitive travel or financial costs. This work presents a mobile low-cost field programmable gate array (FPGA)-smart rehabilitation system that can be used in home environments. The prototype is a rehabilitation table instrumented with a capacitive sensor array (CSA) to track upper-extremity motions of the user through proximity or touch. In addition, inertial measurement units (IMUs) are placed on the affected upper limb and combined with the CSA data with our sensor fusion signal processing architecture. Motions are classified and evaluated using multi-task convolutional recurrent neural networks with three additional motion quality output classes to personalize recognition based on the particular motor skills of each patient. The prototype achieves above 99&#x0025; accuracy with 32-bit fixed-point format implementation for recognizing dynamic motions and identifying unnatural characteristics (i.e., tremor or limited flexion and extension) in upper limb motions based on sensor values. The convolutional recurrent neural network (C-RNN) fusion classification network is implemented on a 200 MHz Zynq ZCU104 FPGA using an HLS-based design optimized with pipelining and parallelism techniques and achieves 5.4x speedup compared to ARM&#x00AE; Cortex-A53 implementation running at an operating frequency of 1.3 GHz. The prototype is also demonstrated to perform the machine learning classification in real-time.

Implementation of wearable device for upper limb rehabilitation using embedded IoT

Implementation of wearable device for upper limb rehabilitation using embedded IoT

A review on design mechanism for self-adapting upper-limb rehabilitation device on finger

Stroke is a common cause which is affecting the lives of elderly. These days such cases are common among young generation also. They may result in damaging the lower or upper limb and oftentimes both. In some cases, the patient can regain their natural range of motion by therapeutic exercises. However, these exercises now involve the use of exoskeleton devices. Therefore, to unveil the different types of self-adapting upper limb rehabilitation devices, an attempt has been made in this paper. The paper will serve as a small inventory of distinct rehabilitation devices available for upper limb with in depth advantages and limitations.[copyright information to be updated in production process]

Enhanced customer requirement classification for product design using big data and improved Kano model

The classification of customer requirements (CRs) has a significant impact on the solution of product design. Existing CRs classification methods such as the Kano model and IPA model are time-consuming and inaccurate. This paper proposes a CRs classification method for product design using big data of online customer reviews of products to classify CRs accurately and efficiently. Comments of customer reviews are matched to CRs using a hierarchical semantic similarity method. Customer satisfaction degrees are defined based on emotional levels of adjectives and adverbs of customer comments using word vectors. The function implementation degree of each product is determined by specifications crawled from online products. Fitting curves are formed by defined customer satisfaction and function implementation of CRs using polynomial modeling and least square methods. Based on the slope of the fitted curves, CRs are classified to provide the minimum and maximum function implementations of CRs in each CR group to guide a product design process. The proposed method is applied in a case study of defining CRs classifications for design of upper limb rehabilitation devices. For verifying the proposed method, CRs defined by the existing methods are compared with CRs from the proposed method in design of an upper limb rehabilitation device.

Robotic Rehabilitation: An Opportunity to Improve Cognitive Functions in Subjects With Stroke. An Explorative Study.

Background: After a stroke, up to three-quarters of acute and subacute stroke survivors exhibit cognitive impairment, with a significant impact on functional recovery, quality of life, and social engagement. Robotic therapy has shown its effectiveness on motor recovery, but its effectiveness on cognitive recovery has not fully investigated.Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of a technological rehabilitation intervention on cognitive functions in patients with stroke, using a set of three robots and one sensor-based device for upper limb rehabilitation.Methods: This is a pilot study in which 51 patients were enrolled. An upper limb rehabilitation program was performed using three robots and one sensor-based device. The intervention comprised motor/cognitive exercises, especially selected among the available ones to train also cognitive functions. Patients underwent 30 rehabilitation sessions, each session lasting 45 minutes, 5 days a week. Patients were assessed before and after the treatment with several cognitive tests (Oxford Cognitive Scale, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Digit Span, Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure, Tower of London, and Stroop test). In addition, motor (Fugl–Meyer Assessment and Motricity Index) and disability (modified Barthel Index) scales were used.Results: According to the Oxford Cognitive Scale domains, a significant percentage of patients exhibited cognitive deficits. Excluding perception (with only one patient impaired), the domain with the lowest percentage of patients showing a pathological score was praxis (about 25%), while the highest percentage of impaired patients was found in calculation (about 70%). After the treatment, patients improved in all the investigated cognitive domains, as measured by the selected cognitive assessment scales. Moreover, motor and disability scales confirmed the efficacy of robotics on upper limb rehabilitation in patients with stroke.Conclusions: This explorative study suggests that robotic technology can be used to combine motor and cognitive exercises in a unique treatment session.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04164381.

Wearable Physiological Monitoring System Based on Electrocardiography and Electromyography for Upper Limb Rehabilitation Training.

Secondary injuries are common during upper limb rehabilitation training because of uncontrollable physical force and overexciting activities, and long-time training may cause fatigue and reduce the training effect. This study proposes a wearable monitoring device for upper limb rehabilitation by integrating electrocardiogram and electromyogram (ECG/EMG) sensors and using data acquisition boards to obtain accurate signals during robotic glove assisting training. The collected ECG/EMG signals were filtered, amplified, digitized, and then transmitted to a remote receiver (smart phone or laptop) via a low-energy Bluetooth module. A software platform was developed for data analysis to visualize ECG/EMG information, and integrated into the robotic glove control module. In the training progress, various hand activities (i.e., hand closing, forearm pronation, finger flexion, and wrist extension) were monitored by the EMG sensor, and the changes in the physiological status of people (from excited to fatigue) were monitored by the ECG sensor. The functionality and feasibility of the developed physiological monitoring system was demonstrated by the assisting robotic glove with an adaptive strategy for upper limb rehabilitation training improvement. The feasible results provided a novel technique to monitor individual ECG and EMG information holistically and practically, and a technical reference to improve upper limb rehabilitation according to specific treatment conditions and the users’ demands. On the basis of this wearable monitoring system prototype for upper limb rehabilitation, many ECG-/EMG-based mobile healthcare applications could be built avoiding some complicated implementation issues such as sensors management and feature extraction.

Design of a portable anthropomimetic upper limb rehabilitation device for patients suffering from neuromuscular disability.

An upper limb anthropomimetic rehabilitation device has been designed for patients suffering from a neuromuscular disability. The developed device has been designed as a wearable device and attempts to supplement all known functions of the human hand and fingers. The actuation of individual joints of the hand and wrist has been implemented by using DC motors interfaced to a control system. A pulley system was adopted to ensure a low device profile with the aim of maximising functionality in the affected hand. Both actuators and the electronic assembly are sited in the forearm assembly for this purpose. The device is designed to fulfill multiple roles. At its simplest instance, it is designed as a device for providing resistance training in patients suffering from reversible neuromuscular weakness. The device also aims to provide support as an exoskeleton device in patients suffering from partial but permanent neuromuscular weakness. The measurement of finger and wrist bending in axial and radial directions were investigated by an array of potentiometers mounted around the wearable device covering different joints of the fingers and wrist, and were further analyzed to characterize the range of the device. The system is a composite device with diverse functions fulfilling all the requirements of an upperlimb orthotic device. The device is planned to be part of a comprehensive exoskeleton device for quadriparetic patients in the future.

A spectral clustering method to improve importance rating accuracy of customer requirements in QFD

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a method commonly used in manufacturing industries to identify customer requirements (CRs) and the manufacturing capacity to meet CRs. Importance rate (IR) of CRs plays an important role in the QFD method. The existing methods in determining IR of CRs cannot consider all related factors of customer satisfaction, need importance, personal information, and relationship between customer satisfaction and function implementation. This paper proposes a method to improve the IR accuracy. Based on comments of customers for a product, importance rates of CRs are defined using integrated importance-performance analysis (IPA) and Kano models. IPA and Kano models are integrated by spectral clustering where a similarity matrix W is formed to balance the influence proportion between the IPA and Kano models considering comments of different customers for the product. IR of CRs is used in the QFD method to define functions and structures of the product. The proposed method is compared with several existing methods in case studies of designing an upper limb rehabilitation device and a feed drive system of the CNC machine. Results show that the proposed method has improved accuracy of IR of CRs for the product design and manufacturing.