sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation Therapies
The movement of the human hand offers various degrees of freedom, enabling efficient performance of dynamic tasks and robust interaction with the environment in a compliant and continuous manner. However, the rigid exoskeleton used in hand rehabilitation limits the user’s freedom of movem...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IEEE
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | IEEE Access |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10477339/ |
| _version_ | 1797238841771294720 |
|---|---|
| author | Dorin Copaci David Serrano Del Cerro Janeth Arias Guadalupe Luis Moreno Lorente Dolores Blanco Rojas |
| author_facet | Dorin Copaci David Serrano Del Cerro Janeth Arias Guadalupe Luis Moreno Lorente Dolores Blanco Rojas |
| author_sort | Dorin Copaci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The movement of the human hand offers various degrees of freedom, enabling efficient performance of dynamic tasks and robust interaction with the environment in a compliant and continuous manner. However, the rigid exoskeleton used in hand rehabilitation limits the user’s freedom of movement, complicating their natural interaction with the environment. In this study, we present a soft exo-glove for assistive rehabilitation actuated by Shape Memory Alloys (SMA), controlled by a surface electromyography (sEMG) hand gesture classifier. Thanks to the actuator type, the soft exo-glove enables slow, smooth, and controlled movements when activated and provides complete control transparency when the device is not active. This advantage enhances the comfort and acceptance of the exo-glove by the patient. On the other hand, the classifier, in conjunction with the control algorithm and the soft exo-glove, offers the potential to use the exo-glove in assistive hand rehabilitation therapy. For user-friendly use, an interface has been developed, enabling the acquisition of new sEMG data from new users, retraining of the classifier, and connection with the soft exo-glove for rehabilitation therapy. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that the proposed wearable soft exo-glove, along with the control algorithm and the employed classifier, constitutes an effective solution for assistive rehabilitation tasks, as demonstrated with healthy subjects. Furthermore, this solution can be easily adapted to the users’ characteristics and requirements. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:42:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a93ac9052e9940bbb6e5028cdd82f1c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:42:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-a93ac9052e9940bbb6e5028cdd82f1c22024-03-27T23:00:17ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362024-01-0112435064351810.1109/ACCESS.2024.338046910477339sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation TherapiesDorin Copaci0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3070-0994David Serrano Del Cerro1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5434-6857Janeth Arias Guadalupe2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5540-1395Luis Moreno Lorente3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4450-680XDolores Blanco Rojas4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6300-5165Department of Systems Engineering and Automation, Robotics Laboratory, Carlos III University of Madrid, Leganés, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Systems Engineering and Automation, Robotics Laboratory, Carlos III University of Madrid, Leganés, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Systems Engineering and Automation, Robotics Laboratory, Carlos III University of Madrid, Leganés, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Systems Engineering and Automation, Robotics Laboratory, Carlos III University of Madrid, Leganés, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Systems Engineering and Automation, Robotics Laboratory, Carlos III University of Madrid, Leganés, Madrid, SpainThe movement of the human hand offers various degrees of freedom, enabling efficient performance of dynamic tasks and robust interaction with the environment in a compliant and continuous manner. However, the rigid exoskeleton used in hand rehabilitation limits the user’s freedom of movement, complicating their natural interaction with the environment. In this study, we present a soft exo-glove for assistive rehabilitation actuated by Shape Memory Alloys (SMA), controlled by a surface electromyography (sEMG) hand gesture classifier. Thanks to the actuator type, the soft exo-glove enables slow, smooth, and controlled movements when activated and provides complete control transparency when the device is not active. This advantage enhances the comfort and acceptance of the exo-glove by the patient. On the other hand, the classifier, in conjunction with the control algorithm and the soft exo-glove, offers the potential to use the exo-glove in assistive hand rehabilitation therapy. For user-friendly use, an interface has been developed, enabling the acquisition of new sEMG data from new users, retraining of the classifier, and connection with the soft exo-glove for rehabilitation therapy. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate that the proposed wearable soft exo-glove, along with the control algorithm and the employed classifier, constitutes an effective solution for assistive rehabilitation tasks, as demonstrated with healthy subjects. Furthermore, this solution can be easily adapted to the users’ characteristics and requirements.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10477339/Assistive rehabilitationgesture classificationshape memory alloyssoft exo-glove |
| spellingShingle | Dorin Copaci David Serrano Del Cerro Janeth Arias Guadalupe Luis Moreno Lorente Dolores Blanco Rojas sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation Therapies IEEE Access Assistive rehabilitation gesture classification shape memory alloys soft exo-glove |
| title | sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation Therapies |
| title_full | sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation Therapies |
| title_fullStr | sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation Therapies |
| title_full_unstemmed | sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation Therapies |
| title_short | sEMG-Controlled Soft Exo-Glove for Assistive Rehabilitation Therapies |
| title_sort | semg controlled soft exo glove for assistive rehabilitation therapies |
| topic | Assistive rehabilitation gesture classification shape memory alloys soft exo-glove |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10477339/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dorincopaci semgcontrolledsoftexogloveforassistiverehabilitationtherapies AT davidserranodelcerro semgcontrolledsoftexogloveforassistiverehabilitationtherapies AT janethariasguadalupe semgcontrolledsoftexogloveforassistiverehabilitationtherapies AT luismorenolorente semgcontrolledsoftexogloveforassistiverehabilitationtherapies AT doloresblancorojas semgcontrolledsoftexogloveforassistiverehabilitationtherapies |