Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation
Degenerative diseases and injuries that compromise hand movement reduce individual autonomy and tend to cause financial and psychological problems to their family nucleus. To mitigate these limitations, over the past decade, hand exoskeletons have been designed to rehabilitate or enhance impaired ha...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Biomimetics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/8/3/317 |
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| author | Rodrigo C. Silva Bruno. G. Lourenço Pedro H. F. Ulhoa Eduardo A. F. Dias Fransergio L. da Cunha Cristiane P. Tonetto Luis G. Villani Claysson B. S. Vimieiro Guilherme A. Lepski Marina Monjardim Rafhael M. Andrade |
| author_facet | Rodrigo C. Silva Bruno. G. Lourenço Pedro H. F. Ulhoa Eduardo A. F. Dias Fransergio L. da Cunha Cristiane P. Tonetto Luis G. Villani Claysson B. S. Vimieiro Guilherme A. Lepski Marina Monjardim Rafhael M. Andrade |
| author_sort | Rodrigo C. Silva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Degenerative diseases and injuries that compromise hand movement reduce individual autonomy and tend to cause financial and psychological problems to their family nucleus. To mitigate these limitations, over the past decade, hand exoskeletons have been designed to rehabilitate or enhance impaired hand movements. Although promising, these devices still have limitations, such as weight and cost. Moreover, the movements performed are not kinematically compatible with the joints, thereby reducing the achievements of the rehabilitation process. This article presents the biomimetic design of a soft hand exoskeleton actuated using artificial tendons designed to achieve low weight, volume, and cost, and to improve kinematic compatibility with the joints, comfort, and the sensitivity of the hand by allowing direct contact between the hand palm and objects. We employed two twisted string actuators and Bowden cables to move the artificial tendons and perform the grasping and opening of the hand. With this configuration, the heavy part of the system was reallocated to a test bench, allowing for a lightweight set of just 232 g attached to the arm. The system was triggered by the myoelectric signals of the biceps captured from the user’s skin to encourage the active participation of the user in the process. The device was evaluated by five healthy subjects who were asked to simulate a paralyzed hand, and manipulate different types of objects and perform grip strength. The results showed that the system was able to identify the intention of movement of the user with an accuracy of 90%, and the orthosis was able to enhance the ability of handling objects with gripping force up to 1.86 kgf. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:15:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09eb102c7b614a59a68306b2861c38cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-7673 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:15:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomimetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-09eb102c7b614a59a68306b2861c38cb2023-11-18T18:30:02ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732023-07-018331710.3390/biomimetics8030317Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb RehabilitationRodrigo C. Silva0Bruno. G. Lourenço1Pedro H. F. Ulhoa2Eduardo A. F. Dias3Fransergio L. da Cunha4Cristiane P. Tonetto5Luis G. Villani6Claysson B. S. Vimieiro7Guilherme A. Lepski8Marina Monjardim9Rafhael M. Andrade10Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilGraduate Program of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilGraduate Program of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, BrazilDepartments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Medical School, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05403-010, BrazilGraduate Program of Animal Biology, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29.075-910, BrazilDegenerative diseases and injuries that compromise hand movement reduce individual autonomy and tend to cause financial and psychological problems to their family nucleus. To mitigate these limitations, over the past decade, hand exoskeletons have been designed to rehabilitate or enhance impaired hand movements. Although promising, these devices still have limitations, such as weight and cost. Moreover, the movements performed are not kinematically compatible with the joints, thereby reducing the achievements of the rehabilitation process. This article presents the biomimetic design of a soft hand exoskeleton actuated using artificial tendons designed to achieve low weight, volume, and cost, and to improve kinematic compatibility with the joints, comfort, and the sensitivity of the hand by allowing direct contact between the hand palm and objects. We employed two twisted string actuators and Bowden cables to move the artificial tendons and perform the grasping and opening of the hand. With this configuration, the heavy part of the system was reallocated to a test bench, allowing for a lightweight set of just 232 g attached to the arm. The system was triggered by the myoelectric signals of the biceps captured from the user’s skin to encourage the active participation of the user in the process. The device was evaluated by five healthy subjects who were asked to simulate a paralyzed hand, and manipulate different types of objects and perform grip strength. The results showed that the system was able to identify the intention of movement of the user with an accuracy of 90%, and the orthosis was able to enhance the ability of handling objects with gripping force up to 1.86 kgf.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/8/3/317biomimetic designsoft hand exoskeletonmyoelectric controlrehabilitation |
| spellingShingle | Rodrigo C. Silva Bruno. G. Lourenço Pedro H. F. Ulhoa Eduardo A. F. Dias Fransergio L. da Cunha Cristiane P. Tonetto Luis G. Villani Claysson B. S. Vimieiro Guilherme A. Lepski Marina Monjardim Rafhael M. Andrade Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Biomimetics biomimetic design soft hand exoskeleton myoelectric control rehabilitation |
| title | Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation |
| title_full | Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation |
| title_fullStr | Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation |
| title_short | Biomimetic Design of a Tendon-Driven Myoelectric Soft Hand Exoskeleton for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation |
| title_sort | biomimetic design of a tendon driven myoelectric soft hand exoskeleton for upper limb rehabilitation |
| topic | biomimetic design soft hand exoskeleton myoelectric control rehabilitation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/8/3/317 |
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