Functional Recovery of the Upper Limb With an Active Personal Device

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Casolo ◽  
Gianluca Savalli
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Impedance Control ◽  
Mechanical Impedance ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Memory Space ◽  
Working Volume ◽  
Intention To Move ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Arm Motion

A new personal device to assist the upper limb capable to be mounted on a wheelchair is being tested. The robot is equipped with three brushless motors powered by four electronic boards appositely designed and communicating via I2C protocol; one board works as master for the other three, which have simpler tasks. Most of the driving software has been developed with Matlab and mainly translated into C++ for memory space and boards’ efficiency matters. The system’s end-effector is connected to the subject’s forearm and can cooperate to the arm motion in several different ways. In order to avoid the overstress of the natural joints no further connections are made to the upper limb. The working volume of the limb connected to the device allows the execution of the trajectories required for most of daily living activities. It is addressed to post stroke rehabilitation and to the self-treatment of other patients with serious deficiency of arm forces, like individuals affected by muscular dystrophy. Some working modes exploit the mechanical impedance control to gently interfere with the residual natural motion capability of the subjects. The very preliminary tests of the prototype fitted on a power wheelchair are encouraging: it is light, not too noisy and easy to move for the subject. The first working mode, with full arm gravity compensation, and the second working mode, with partial compensation, have been implemented and are currently being tested with patients, as well as the mode in which the subject is helped to repeat a stereotyped exercise for self-physiotherapy. Beside the fact the control system must be calibrated on patient characteristics, for these initial tasks the system reveals to be user-friendly. Other working modes require to interpret the patient intention to move the upper limb. For a natural approach it is sufficient to decode the movement intention of the patient and the final position he wants the hand to reach, whilst the rest of the limb can be automatically positioned by the system. Different approaches to solve the problem have been experimentally tested, including the use of a headgear with a brain interface. To present knowledge the best results have been obtained by monitoring the movement of another body segment such as the head. The device designed for the functional recovery of upper limb can furthermore be used to monitor and easily certify the evolution of the patient conditions.

The Development of a Direct Drive Master Arm

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuo Kotoku ◽  
◽  
Erhard J. Hüsler ◽  
Kazuo Tanie ◽  
Akio Fujikawa
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Impedance Control ◽  
Angular Displacement ◽  
Angular Acceleration ◽  
Mechanical Impedance ◽  
Control Law ◽  
Direct Drive ◽  
Constraint Forces ◽  
Displacement Sensors ◽  
Arm Motion

This paper deals with the development of a 4 degree of freedom direct drive master manipulator system which has the ability of virtually adjusting its mechanical impedance. In the field of bilateral master-slave manipulation, there are some important points to be considered when a master manipulator is designed. One point is related to how to measure the human operator’s arm motion with high accuracy (which the operator produces to teach the trajectory of tasks). Another point is how to design an effective force/torque generator to make an operator feel the constraint forces the slave arm will receive from the environments during tasks. To satisfy these requirements, a manipulator with a variable mechanical impedance structure and joints equipped with high resolution angular displacement sensors is expected to be developed. The use of the variable impedance structure provides a capability of reflecting the constraint forces to an operator not only statically, but also dynamically. This is effective to present the constraints to an operator with high fidelity. In the research, joint mechanisms and joint sensors suitable for the impedance control were discussed, while the mechanical structure of the master manipulator which is effective to construct a simple impedance control law was investigated. With these considerations in mind, a master manipulator was designed and its impedance control law was formulated. The features of the manufactured manipulator are summarized as follows; (1) each joint is driven by a direct drive torque motor with less friction and has a high resolution angular encoder attached to a processor which can provide joint angular displacement, angular velocity and angular acceleration. (2) the manipulator has the decoupled and configuration-invariant inertia structure in part which is effective to simplify impedance control law. In the paper, the design concept of the master manipulator is first discussed. Secondly, the details of the manufactured manipulator structure are explained. Finally, the results of the evaluation experiments are described and the fundamental characteristics of the system are confirmed.

scholarly journals Impact of Post-Stroke Recanalization on General and Upper Limb Functioning: A Prospective, Observational Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-58
Author(s):  
João Paulo Branco ◽  
Filipa Rocha ◽  
João Sargento-Freitas ◽  
Gustavo C. Santo ◽  
António Freire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Prospective Observational Study ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Patient Functioning ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of recanalization (spontaneous and therapeutic) on upper limb functioning and general patient functioning after stroke. This is a prospective, observational study of patients hospitalized due to acute ischemic stroke in the territory of the middle cerebral artery (n = 98). Patients completed a comprehensive rehabilitation program and were followed-up for 24 weeks. The impact of recanalization on patient functioning was evaluated using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Stroke Upper Limb Capacity Scale (SULCS). General and upper limb functioning improved markedly in the first three weeks after stroke. Age, gender, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission were associated with general and upper limb functioning at 12 weeks. Successful recanalization was associated with better functioning. Among patients who underwent therapeutic recanalization, NIHSS scores ≥16.5 indicate lower general functioning at 12 weeks (sensibility = 72.4%; specificity = 78.6%) and NIHSS scores ≥13.5 indicate no hand functioning at 12 weeks (sensibility = 83.8%; specificity = 76.5%). Recanalization, either spontaneous or therapeutic, has a positive impact on patient functioning after acute ischemic stroke. Functional recovery occurs mostly within the first 12 weeks after stroke, with greater functional gains among patients with successful recanalization. Higher NIHSS scores at admission are associated with worse functional recovery.

Control System Design of Upper Limb Rehabilitation Robot

2013 ◽  
Vol 310 ◽  
pp. 477-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Yu ◽  
Jin Wu Qian ◽  
Lin Yong Shen ◽  
Ya Nan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Impedance Control ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
Rehabilitation Robot ◽  
Upper Limb Rehabilitation ◽  
Rehabilitation Training ◽  
Simulation And Experiment ◽  
Limb Rehabilitation ◽  
Active Training

In traditional iatrical method, the patients with hemiplegia were assisted mainly by medical personnel to complete rehabilitation training. To make the medical personnel work easily and improve the effect of rehabilitation training, the rehabilitation robot was adopted. And the control system of a four DOF upper limb rehabilitation robot was designed based on impedance control to assist the patients with hemiplegia to complete rehabilitation training after the kinematic and kinetic analysis was finished. Then finished the analysis, simulation, and experiment of monarticular movement and multiarticulate movement after the analyzing the algorithm to tested the control system. The control system based on impedance control of the upper limb rehabilitation robot can realize the passive training which followed the planning trajectory, and active training which followed patients’ awareness of movement.

scholarly journals NURSE-2 DoF Device for Arm Motion Guidance: Kinematic, Dynamic, and FEM Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2139
Author(s):  
Betsy D. M. Chaparro-Rico ◽  
Daniele Cafolla ◽  
Marco Ceccarelli ◽  
Eduardo Castillo-Castaneda
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element Method ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Numerical Procedure ◽  
Fem Analysis ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Assistive Device ◽  
Arm Motion ◽  
Element Method

Patients with neurological or orthopedic lesions require assistance during therapies with repetitive movements. NURSE (cassiNo-qUeretaro uppeR-limb aSsistive dEvice) is an arm movement aid device for both right- and left-upper limb. The device has a big workspace to conduct physical therapy or training on individuals including kids and elderly individuals, of any age and size. This paper describes the mechanism design of NURSE and presents a numerical procedure for testing the mechanism feasibility that includes a kinematic, dynamic, and FEM (Finite Element Method) analysis. The kinematic demonstrated that a big workspace is available in the device to reproduce therapeutic movements. The dynamic analysis shows that commercial motors for low power consumption can achieve the needed displacement, acceleration, speed, and torque. Finite Element Method showed that the mechanism can afford the upper limb weight with light-bars for a tiny design. This work has led to the construction of a NURSE prototype with a light structure of 2.6 kg fitting into a box of 35 × 45 × 30 cm. The latter facilitates portability as well as rehabilitation at home with a proper follow-up. The prototype presented a repeatability of ±1.3 cm that has been considered satisfactory for a device having components manufactured with 3D rapid prototyping technology.

scholarly journals Experimental Characterization of NURSE, a Device for Arm Motion Guidance

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betsy Dayana Marcela Chaparro-Rico ◽  
Daniele Cafolla ◽  
Marco Ceccarelli ◽  
Eduardo Castillo-Castaneda
Keyword(s):  
Power Consumption ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Experimental Characterization ◽  
Experimental Procedure ◽  
Laboratory Setup ◽  
Arm Motion ◽  
Limb Exercise

This paper presents an experimental characterization of NURSE, a device for arm motion guidance. The laboratory setup and testing modes are presented to explain the experimental procedure. Two exercises for the upper limb exercise are used to test the NURSE behaviour, and successful results are presented. Trajectories and linear accelerations are tested when the device performs the two exercises without and with load. In addition, torque and power consumption are considered to check the NURSE behaviour.

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