Roessingh Research and Development, Enschede, the Netherlands.
Department of Biomechanical Engineering, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands.
Assist Technol. 2020;32(1):9-15. doi: 10.1080/10400435.2018.1453888. Epub 2018 May 24.
Reduced grip strength, resulting in difficulties in performing daily activities, is a common problem in the population of older adults. Newly developed soft-robotic devices have the potential to support older adults with reduced grip in daily activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the direct, assistive effect of grip support from the wearable, soft-robotic ironHand glove.In total, 65 older adults with self-reported decline of hand function resulting from various disorders participated in this cross-sectional study. They performed various hand function tests with and without the glove during a single session. At the end, usability was scored.Participants were able to produce more pinch strength with the glove compared to without glove ( ≤ 0.001) and usability was rated very positively. However, this was not reflected in improved functional performance with the glove, as measured with timed tasks ( < 0.001). Furthermore, no correlation was found between baseline handgrip strength and changes in performance (between without and with glove) of all assessments (≤ 0.137, ≥ 0.288).Further design adaptations are desired and more research is needed to investigate if performance with the glove can improve, when taking quality of task performance into account, or when applying a longer acquaintance period with the glove.
握力下降导致老年人在日常生活中活动困难是一个常见问题。新开发的软性机器人设备有可能为握力下降的老年人提供日常生活的支持。本研究的目的是评估可穿戴软机器人铁手手套对握力的直接辅助效果。共有 65 名手部功能因各种疾病而自我报告下降的老年人参与了这项横断面研究。他们在一次会议中分别在使用和不使用手套的情况下进行了各种手部功能测试。最后，对可用性进行了评分。与不戴手套相比，参与者使用手套时能够产生更大的捏力（≤0.001），并且可用性被评为非常积极。然而，这并没有反映在戴手套的功能性任务表现的改善上（<0.001）。此外，在所有评估中（≤0.137，≥0.288），基线握力与无手套和戴手套之间的表现变化之间均未发现相关性。需要进一步进行设计调整，需要进行更多的研究，以探讨当考虑任务表现质量或使用更长的手套熟悉期时，使用手套是否可以提高表现。
