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Controlling a robotic rehabilitation artefact such as a hand prosthesis is yet a rather open problem. Particularly, the choice of a human-machine interface (HMI) to enable natural control is still debatable. The traditional choice, i.e. surface electromyography (sEMG), suffers from a number of problems (electrode displacement, sweat, fatigue) which cannot be easily solved. One of its main drawbacks...
Stair ascent is still a difficult task for transfemoral prosthesis users. So far, a passive knee joint unit for transfemoral prosthesis developed in our previous study achieved stair ascending without handrails or any other assistance devices. However, the experimental results with the simulated socket showed that the users faced difficulty in using the knee joint at the beginning of the load response...
We have developed a real-time machine learning approach for the collaborative control of a prosthetic arm. Upper-limb amputees are often extremely limited in the number of inputs they can provide to their prosthetic device, typically controlling only one joint at a time with the ability to toggle their control between the different joints of their prosthesis. Many users therefore consider the control...
Measurements of multi-axial Ground Reaction Force (GRF) can provides quite useful information for monitoring abnormalities of gait during Activities in Daily Living (ADL). Measuring multi-axial GRF using ambulatory GRF sensing systems is difficult due to the height of sensor and the number of sensors used. Therefore, we developed a wireless GRF sensing system having the low height (12 mm) and the...
Rehabilitation robotics is a growing field which is on the verge of exploring novel actuation technologies that allows the designers to build assistive devices with large power to weight ratios without compromising the transparency of the system. In this paper a novel push-pull cable driven technology implemented in the CORBYS rehabilitation system as a solution for a proximally actuated device is...
Advancements in prosthetic knee design have led to biologically inspired microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees. The added value of these devices has been extensively studied in walking. However, trials into the activity pattern of persons with an amputation show that the majority of ambulation activities are short in duration. This means that a high percentage of ambulatory activities involves...
Due to the growing field of neuro-prosthetics and other brain-machine interfaces that employ human-like control schemes, it has become a priority to design sensor and actuation mechanisms that relay tactile information to the user. Unfortunately, most state of the art technology uses feedback techniques that are invasive, costly or inefficient for the general population. This paper proposes a feasible...
Gait phase detection is essential to the control of lower-limb exoskeletons. In this paper, we present a non-contact capacitive sensing strategy for gait phase detection to replace foot pressure sensors. The designed capacitance sensing system can record signals of human muscle contraction from the leg. The electrodes are non-contact with the skin, which are fixed on the particularly designed cuffs...
In this paper we propose a full upper limb exoskeleton for motor rehabilitation of reaching, grasping and releasing in post-stroke patients. The presented system takes into account the hand pre-shaping for object affordability and it is driven by patient's intentional control through a self-paced asynchronous Motor Imagery based Brain Computer Interface (MI-BCI). The developed antropomorphic eight...
This paper presents further developments, characterization and initial evaluation of a recently developed assistive soft robotic glove for individuals with hand pathologies. The glove technology utilizes a combination of elastomeric and inextensible materials to create soft actuators that conform to the user's hand and can generate sufficient hand closing force to assist with activities of daily living...
The paper introduces a novel type of actuator for soft wearable exoskeletons providing assistance to the elbow joint motion. The mechanism consists of two DC motors, a multistable composite transmission which introduces series elastic properties, a high-efficiency non-backdrivable mechanism and a pair of Bowden cables to transmit the motion from the actuator to the joint. A test bench has been designed...
This paper presents a wearable robotic extra finger used by chronic stroke patients to compensate for the missing hand functions of the paretic limb. The extra finger is worn on the paretic forearm by means of an elastic band, and it is coupled with a vibrotactile ring interface worn on the healthy hand. The robotic finger and the paretic hand act like the two parts of a gripper working together to...
Exoskeletons have been used successfully for functional training of human motions. Our designs of the Cable-driven Arm Exoskeleton (CAREX) are targeted to improve arm function in patients with stroke. In this study, we focus on how muscle activation patterns of subjects change during movements with and without CAREX. Our goal was to evaluate whether CAREX distorts the natural pattern of EMG activity...
These days, many people suffer from impairments caused by diseases and accidents. Impaired arm function is one of the biggest problem interrupting the activities of daily living for these people. To assist these people with the activities of daily life, many assistive devices for arm motion have been developed. However, many issues arise in their use in actual life, such as the need for customization,...
For rehabilitation robots to be successful, a control system that results in safe, comfortable and effective interaction between the robot and subject is necessary. We present two types of torque-based controllers for the index finger module of a hand exoskeleton for rehabilitation. Impedance control applies a position-dependent torque at the joints, while keeping the interaction with the finger compliant...
There is a recent increase in development of compact soft wearable robotic devices that are used for rehabilitation and assistance of the hand. In order to rehabilitate or assist natural grasp tasks, the device requires monitoring of hand posture including finger and thumb joint angles. For estimating the finger and thumb joint angles without making the device bulky, bending sensors enable compact...
Restriction of pelvic lateral and rotation motions caused by robotic devices can hinder successful gait rehabilitation. To tackle this issue, this paper presents a novel pelvic motion supported over-ground robotic walker developed for gait training. This device consists of an omni-directional mobile platform, a pelvic and trunk motion support brace unit, and an intuitive human-machine interface with...
A novel ensemble-based approach of cycle variance is proposed for the assessment of gait rhythmicity of people affected by stroke or cerebral palsy. Three impaired participants (two with cerebral palsy and one with a stroke) completed a one-month rehabilitation training program utilizing a novel piece of robotic hardware, the MIT-Skywalker. The MIT-Skywalker trained patients in 3 modes (rhythmic,...
This research presents the design and development of a new strategy for an ankle rehabilitation system. The developed ankle rehabilitation system can be used as Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) device and strength endurance training device for early stage functional rehabilitation. The designed mechanism can allow desired maximum and minimum Range of Motion (ROM) for dorsiflexion and plantar flexion...
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