Application of haptic interface for finger exercise.

A haptic device with two active degrees-of-freedom and a tendon-driven transmission system was designed, later on constructed, and submitted to testing. It was embodied as a lightweight mechanism with a small workspace that wraps the finger workspace and can generate forces up to 10 N suitable for finger exercise. The control loop and the user application were implemented on a personal computer in the Microsoft Windows environment. Along with the device, application covering several different experiment types was developed. The system was evaluated in a group of stroke patients during a one-month period of therapy. Results for two types of experiments are presented. The progress of the patient affected hand side was found to be greater than for the one nonaffected, however, the mean values of the relevant parameters on the nonaffected side of patients are higher than those for the affected side. Results were compared to the motor component of functional independence measure (M-FIM) measured clinical scale.