Wearable Robots: An Original Mechatronic Design of a Hand Exoskeleton for Assistive and Rehabilitative Purposes

Abstract

Robotic devices are being employed in more and more sectors to enhance, streamline, and augment the outcomes of a wide variety of human activities. Wearable robots arise indeed as of-vital-importance tools for telerehabilitation or home assistance targeting people affected by motor disabilities. In particular, the field of “Robotics for Medicine and Healthcare” is attracting growing interest. The development of such devices is a primarily addressed topic since the increasing number of people in need of rehabilitation or assistive therapies (due to population aging) growingly weighs on the healthcare systems of the nation. Besides, the necessity to move to clinics represents an additional logistic burden for patients and their families. Among the various body parts, the hand is specially investigated since it most ensures the independence of an individual, and thus, the restoration of its dexterity is considered a high priority. In this study, the authors present the development of a fully wearable, portable, and tailor-made hand exoskeleton designed for both home assistance and telerehabilitation. Its purpose is either to assist patients during activities of daily living by running a real-time intention detection algorithm or to be used for remotely supervised or unsupervised rehabilitation sessions by performing exercises preset by therapists. Throughout the mechatronic design process, special attention has been paid to the complete wearability and comfort of the system to produce a user-friendly device capable of assisting people in their daily life or enabling recorded home rehabilitation sessions allowing the therapist to monitor the state evolution of the patient. Such a hand exoskeleton system has been designed, manufactured, and preliminarily tested on a subject affected by spinal muscular atrophy, and some results are reported at the end of the article.

Hand rehabilitation based on the RobHand exoskeleton in stroke patients: A case series study

“…No localized fatigue was reported after use the device. Studies available in the literature on the design of devices to recover manual function and restore the quality of life of people with disabilities, present the requirements for the design of these technologies, such as being correctly coupled with the assisted hand, ensure user safety and comfort, be effective in transmitting force and be as affordable and available as possible ( Secciani et al., 2011 ; Sarac et al., 2019 ). In the study, we used a hand exoskeleton implemented with orthotic adaptations to avoid skin alterations and promote the device safety, which was probably a favorable element in the absence of adverse events in our clinical tests.…”

Introductory Chapter: Trends in Assistive Technology

“…Exoskeletons are wearable robotic devices that can help people with mobility impairments walk or stand. They are particularly useful for people with spinal cord injuries or other conditions that affect their ability to move [14]. Robots can be used to assist with a range of everyday tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, and personal care.…”

Soft, Rigid, and Hybrid Robotic Exoskeletons for Hand Rehabilitation: Roadmap with Impairment-Oriented Rationale for Devices Design and Selection

“…These structures can actuate multiple DOFs simultaneously, in a controlled manner, using a single actuator. Based on this concept, different transmission systems can be identified: four-bar linkage mechanisms [23,31,[41][42][43][44], remote center of rotation [22,28,45], serial links mechanisms (suitable if the device needs to fit various users) [24,27,34,36], and matchedaxis mechanical structures [46][47][48]. Each of these proposed solutions allows the actuation of the hand DOFs while maintaining the device's portability and functionality.…”

“…Rigid hand or finger exoskeletons are usually connected to the hand by flexible and adaptable fabric components. The actuators are usually positioned on the back of the hand [34,44,52] or on the forearm [25]. Usually, a rigid support for the actuators is present, connected to the hand palm or to the forearm with flexible and adaptable Velcro straps or similar systems.…”