Butzer Tobias, Dittli Jan, Lieber Jan, van Hedel Hubertus J A, Meyer-Heim Andreas, Lambercy Olivier, Gassert Roger
IEEE Int Conf Rehabil Robot. 2019 Jun;2019:108-114. doi: 10.1109/ICORR.2019.8779489.
Children with hand motor impairment due to cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, or pediatric stroke are considerably affected in their independence, development, and quality of life. Treatment conventionally includes task-oriented training in occupational therapy. While dose and intensity of hand therapy can be promoted through technology, these approaches are mostly limited to large stationary robotic devices for non-task-oriented training, or passive wearable devices for children with mild impairments. Here we present PEXO, a fully wearable actuated pediatric hand exoskeleton to cover the special needs of children (6 to 12 years of age) with strong impairments in hand function. Through three degrees of freedom, PEXO provides assistance in various grasp types needed for the execution of functional tasks. It is lightweight, water proof, and inherently interacts safely with the user. It meets mechanical requirements such as force, fast closing movement, and battery lifetime derived from literature and discussions with clinicians. Appealing appearance, user-friendly design, and intuitive control with visual feedback of forearm muscle activity should keep the user motivated during training in the clinic or at home. A pilot test with a 6-years old child with stroke showed that PEXO can provide assistance in grasping various objects weighing up to 0.5 kg. These are promising first results on the way to make hand exoskeletons accessible for children with neuromotor disorders.
因脑瘫、创伤性脑损伤或小儿中风而导致手部运动功能受损的儿童，其独立性、发育和生活质量受到极大影响。传统治疗方法包括职业治疗中的任务导向训练。虽然可以通过技术手段提高手部治疗的剂量和强度，但这些方法大多局限于用于非任务导向训练的大型固定式机器人设备，或用于轻度受损儿童的被动式可穿戴设备。在此，我们展示了PEXO，这是一款完全可穿戴的驱动式小儿手部外骨骼，以满足手部功能严重受损的儿童（6至12岁）的特殊需求。通过三个自由度，PEXO为执行功能性任务所需的各种抓握类型提供助力。它重量轻、防水，并且与用户的交互本质上是安全的。它满足了从文献以及与临床医生的讨论中得出的诸如力、快速闭合动作和电池续航时间等机械要求。吸引人的外观、用户友好的设计以及通过前臂肌肉活动的视觉反馈进行直观控制，应能在临床或家中训练期间让用户保持积极性。对一名6岁中风儿童进行的初步测试表明，PEXO能够为抓取重达0.5千克的各种物体提供助力。这些都是迈向让神经运动障碍儿童能够使用手部外骨骼的充满希望的初步成果。
