Characterization and Evaluation of A Cable-Actuated Flexible Hand Exoskeleton

Abstract

Flexible hand exoskeleton robots are more and more used in medical rehabilitation. This is due to the fact that these exoskeletons have strong compatibility with hands, can realize continuous deformation, and can apply force according to the motion trajectory. This paper proposes a cable-actuated flexible hand exoskeleton. Firstly, a motion model of one finger is established. Then a hand exoskeleton for rehabilitation is designed and constructed based on it. The exoskeleton is remotely actuated by motor and the force is transmitted through cables to achieve the bidirectional drive of the fingers. In addition, a tensioning mechanism of pulley block is designed to pre-tension the wire slack in the process of wire transmission. Finally, the experiment results show that the exoskeleton can bend the three joints of the index finger (DIP, PIP, and MCP) to 57 degrees, 35 degrees, and 31 degrees respectively. Under the load of 2.5N per finger, the exoskeleton can still drive the fingers to flex. The experimental results verify that the exoskeleton is a feasible solution that can meet the requirements of hand rehabilitation and can enable patients to recover and improve finger function in daily activities.