Design and Analysis of a Hand Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Based on Compound Drive of Cable and Leaf Spring

Abstract

For the post-stroke finger clonus period, the patient's muscle tension increases, and the finger flexion can not be extended as a clonus. A novel hand rehabilitation exoskeleton based on a compound drive of cable and leaf spring has been designed to help with finger rehabilitation. The large stiffness leaf spring helps the patient to complete the extension movement, and the flexion grasping movement is completed under the action of the cable. The structure has good flexibility, which makes the interaction between the hand and the exoskeleton robot safer. Based on the Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) parameters method, the kinematic model of the finger has been built to be used in designing the exoskeleton. The static characteristics of the exoskeleton are analyzed based on the stiffness of the leaf spring. A virtual prototype is built using Multibody to simulate and analyze the change in cable length and leaf spring stiffness. The simulation results demonstrate the accuracy of the kinematic model and the rationality of the design.