On the edge between soft and rigid: an assistive shoulder exoskeleton with hyper-redundant kinematics

Tiseni, Luca; Xiloyannis, Michele; Chiaradia, Domenico; Lotti, Nicola; Solazzi, Massimiliano; Kooij, Herman van der; Frisoli, Antonio; Masia, Lorenzo

doi:10.1109/icorr.2019.8779546

Cited by 27 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…They also include the lower and upper limbs, which act directly on the human body [76], however, this paper investigated only the upper limbs. Despite the existing complexities, many upper exoskeletons of rehabilitation have been developed and tested in the last two decades [70]. Ideal robotic rehabilitation devices should be able to: 1) train the full workspace of the human body, 2) activate the joint to stimulate precise ergonomic movements in the patient, 3) should not cause discomfort or safety hazards to be used when moving.…”

Section: Exoskeletonmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review: A Comprehensive Review of Soft and Rigid Wearable Rehabilitation and Assistive Devices with a Focus on the Shoulder Joint

Vatan

Nefti‐Meziani

Davis

et al. 2021

J Intell Robot Syst

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The importance of the human upper limb role in performing daily life and personal activities is significant. Improper functioning of this organ due to neurological disorders or surgeries can greatly affect the daily activities performed by patients. This paper aims to comprehensively review soft and rigid wearable robotic devices provided for rehabilitation and assistance focusing on the shoulder joint. In the last two decades, many devices have been proposed in this regard, however, there have been a few groups whose devices have had effective therapeutic capability with acceptable clinical evidence. Also, there were not many portable, lightweight and user-friendly devices. Therefore, this comprehensive study could pave the way for achieving optimal future devices, given the growing need for these devices. According to the results, the most commonly used plan was Exoskeleton, the most commonly used actuators were electrical, and most devices were considered to be stationary and rigid. By doing these studies, the advantages and disadvantages of each method are also presented. The presented devices each have a new idea and attitude in a specific field to solve the problems of movement disorders and rehabilitation, which were in the form of prototypes, initial clinical studies and sometimes comprehensive clinical and commercial studies. These plans need more comprehensive clinical trials to become a complete and efficient plan. This article could be used by researchers to identify and evaluate the important features and strengths and weaknesses of the plans to lead to the presentation of more optimal plans in the future.

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Section: Exoskeletonmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review: A Comprehensive Review of Soft and Rigid Wearable Rehabilitation and Assistive Devices with a Focus on the Shoulder Joint

Vatan

Nefti‐Meziani

Davis

et al. 2021

J Intell Robot Syst

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show abstract

“…This work aims at proposing a light, soft, and ergonomic solution for the wrist assistance that can be combined with shoulder/elbow exosuits. In fact, the proposed wrist exosuit is designed as a module of a complete upper limb exosuit where existing solutions for the shoulder (Tiseni et al, 2019 ), the elbow articulation (Chiaradia et al, 2018a ; Xiloyannis et al, 2019a ), and the hand (Xiloyannis et al, 2019b ) will be joined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assistive Soft Wrist Exosuit for Flexion Movements With an Ergonomic Reinforced Glove

et al. 2021

Self Cite

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Soft exosuits are a promising solution for the assistance and augmentation of human motor abilities in the industrial field, where the use of more symbiotic wearable robots can avoid excessive worker fatigue and improve the quality of the work. One of the challenges in the design of soft exosuits is the choice of the right amount of softness to balance load transfer, ergonomics, and weight. This article presents a cable-driven based soft wrist exosuit for flexion assistance with the use of an ergonomic reinforced glove. The flexible and highly compliant three-dimensional (3D)-printed plastic structure that is sewn on the glove allows an optimal force transfer from the remotely located motor to the wrist articulation and to preserve a high level of comfort for the user during assistance. The device is shown to reduce fatigue and the muscular effort required for holding and lifting loads in healthy subjects for weights up to 3 kg.

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“…While early exosuit designs focused on assisting with locomotion [17]- [19], several recent examples actuate the upper extremity [20], [21]. Specifically, exosuits have been created to assist with arm movements in stroke survivors [22]- [28]. In particular, several of these studies have examined how exosuit use affects muscular activity in healthy users and whether the exosuit limits the user's range of motion [22], [24], [25], [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, exosuits have been created to assist with arm movements in stroke survivors [22]- [28]. In particular, several of these studies have examined how exosuit use affects muscular activity in healthy users and whether the exosuit limits the user's range of motion [22], [24], [25], [28]. Only one recent study has examined the effects of an upper extremity exosuit on stroke survivors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper extremity exomuscle for shoulder abduction support

Simpson

Huerta

Sketch

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Assistive devices may aid motor recovery after a stroke, but access to such devices is limited. Exosuits may be a more accessible alternative to current devices and have been used to successfully assist movement after a variety of motor impairments, but we know little about how they might assist post-stroke upper extremity movement. Here, we designed an exosuit actuator to support shoulder abduction, which we call an "exomuscle" and is based on a form of growing robot known as a pneumatic-reel actuator. We also assembled a ceiling-mounted support to serve as a positive control. We verified that both supports reduce the activity of shoulder abductor muscles and do not impede range of motion in healthy participants (n=4). Then, we measured reachable workspace area in stroke survivors (n=6) both with and without support. Our exomuscle increased workspace area in four participants (180±90 cm 2 ) while the ceiling support increased workspace area in five participants (792±540 cm 2 ). Design decisions that make the exomuscle wearable, such as leaving the forearm free, likely contribute to the performance differences between the two supports. Heterogeneity amongst stroke survivors' abilities likely contribute to a high variability in our results. Though both supports resulted in similar performance for healthy participants, the performance differences in stroke survivors highlight the need to validate assistive devices in the target population.

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On the edge between soft and rigid: an assistive shoulder exoskeleton with hyper-redundant kinematics

Cited by 27 publications

References 24 publications

A review: A Comprehensive Review of Soft and Rigid Wearable Rehabilitation and Assistive Devices with a Focus on the Shoulder Joint

A review: A Comprehensive Review of Soft and Rigid Wearable Rehabilitation and Assistive Devices with a Focus on the Shoulder Joint

An Assistive Soft Wrist Exosuit for Flexion Movements With an Ergonomic Reinforced Glove

Upper extremity exomuscle for shoulder abduction support

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