A Pneumatic Glove and Immersive Virtual Reality Environment for Hand Rehabilitative Training After Stroke

Abstract

While a number of devices have recently been developed to facilitate hand rehabilitation after stroke, most place some restrictions on movement of the digits or arm. Thus, a novel glove was developed which can provide independent extension assistance to each digit while still allowing full arm movement. This pneumatic glove, the PneuGlove, can be used for training grasp-and-release movements either with real objects or with virtual objects in a virtual reality environment. Two groups of stroke survivors, with seven subjects in each group, completed a six-week rehabilitation training protocol, consisting of three 1-h sessions held each week. One group wore the PneuGlove during training, performed both within a novel virtual reality environment and outside of it with physical objects, while the other group completed the same training without the device. Across subjects, significant improvements were observed in the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the upper extremity (p < 0.001), the hand/wrist portion of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (p < 0.001), the Box and Blocks test (p < 0.005), and palmar pinch strength (p < 0.005). While changes in the two groups were not statistically different, the group using the PneuGlove did show greater mean improvement on each of these measures, such as gains of 3.7 versus 2.4 points on the hand/wrist portion of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment and 14 N versus 5 N in palmar pinch.

A double-blinded randomised controlled trial exploring the effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation and uni-lateral robot therapy for the impaired upper limb in sub-acute and chronic stroke

“…the object and then release that object (Connelly et al, 2010). It has been claimed that exoskeletons improve global UL movements but not hand dexterity (Lambercy et al, 2007).…”

Estimation of Finger Joint Angles from sEMG Using a Neural Network Including Time Delay Factor and Recurrent Structure

“…If parameters n and h are both zero, the estimation system becomes ordinary [22], and it is clear that the proposed system is the expansion of the ordinary…”

“…The human hand has many joints and performs important functions; therefore, injury to or loss of fingers is a serious problem. Prosthetic hands [7][8][9][10][11][12] and robotic devices that assist rehabilitation [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] are being developed in many institutes, and some prosthetic hands are available in the world market [7][8][9]. Robotic devices that assist rehabilitation are helpful in achieving an early recovery for injured patients.…”

“…Robotic devices that assist rehabilitation are helpful in achieving an early recovery for injured patients. Devices that target the upper limb (shoulder or elbow, without hand) are currently being researched [13][14][15][16][17][18][19], while other work focuses on hand and finger function [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. While research on prosthetic hardware has achieved a certain level, the next step must focus on how to control these devices.…”

Finger Rehabilitation Support System Using a Multifingered Haptic Interface Controlled by a Surface Electromyogram

“…Connelly et al [9] have developed a VR hand rehabilitation system with a pneumatic glove, and Oblak et al [10] have developed a universal haptic device for arm and wrist rehabilitation. In the former, it is slightly difficult for a patient with hand paralysis to wear the glove, and the latter can provide exercise at the shoulder, arm, and wrist only, not the hand or fingers.…”