A wearable device for repetitive hand therapy

Abstract

Intensive task-oriented repetitive physical therapies provided by individualized interaction between the patient and a rehabilitation specialist can improve hand motor performance in patients survived from stroke and traumatic brain injury. However, the therapy process is long and expensive and difficult to evaluate quantitatively and objectively. The goal of this research is to develop a novel wearable device for robotic assisted hand repetitive therapy. We designed a pneumatic muscle (PM) driven therapeutic device that is wearable and provides assistive forces required for grasping and release movements. The robot has two distinct degrees of freedom at the thumb and the fingers. The embedded sensors feedback position and force information for robot control and quantitative evaluation of task performance. It has the potential of providing supplemental at-home therapy in addition to in the clinic treatment.