Three degrees of freedom mouth opening and closing training robot

Abstract

Describes the mechanism and control of a three degrees of freedom (3-DOF) mouth-opening and -closing training robot WY-2 (Waseda Yamanashi-2). The WY-2 is a master-slave type 3-DOF robot. The WY-2 consists of a mechanical actuation sensor, and control systems. The seesaw mechanism inserted in the patient's mouth opens the mouth by squeezing the master manipulator. The 6-axes force-moment sensor measures the patient's biting force. A personal computer integrates and controls the other systems. As the result of therapy using WY-2, mouth-opening distance increased from 29 to 37 mm.