Bützer Tobias, Lambercy Olivier, Arata Jumpei, Gassert Roger
Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Soft Robot. 2021 Apr;8(2):128-143. doi: 10.1089/soro.2019.0135. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
Worldwide, over 50 million people suffer from persistent hand impairments after stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI). This results in major loss of independence and quality of life. Robotic hand exoskeletons can compensate for lost motor function and assist in grasping tasks performed in everyday activities. Several recent prototypes can partially provide this assistance. However, it remains challenging to integrate the dexterity required for daily tasks in a safe and user-friendly design that is acceptable for daily use in subjects with neuromotor hand impairments. We present the design of RELab tenoexo; a fully wearable assistive soft hand exoskeleton for daily activities. We present sleek mechanisms for a hand module that generates the four most frequently used grasp types, employing a remote actuation system that reduces weight on the hand. For optimal assistance and highest adaptability, we present various design and control options to customize the modular device, along with an automated tailoring algorithm that allows automatically generated hand modules for individual users. Mechanical evaluation shows that RELab tenoexo covers the range of motion and the fingertip forces required to assist users in up to 80% of all grasping activities. In user tests, we find that the low weight, unintrusive size, high wearing comfort, and appealing appearance are beneficial for user acceptance and usability in daily life. Finally, we demonstrate that RELab tenoexo leads to an immediate improvement of the functional grasping ability in a subject with SCI.
在全球范围内，超过5000万人在中风或脊髓损伤（SCI）后患有持续性手部损伤。这导致了独立性和生活质量的重大丧失。机器人手部外骨骼可以补偿失去的运动功能，并协助进行日常活动中的抓握任务。最近的几款原型机可以部分提供这种协助。然而，将日常任务所需的灵活性集成到一个安全且用户友好的设计中仍然具有挑战性，这种设计对于患有神经运动性手部损伤的受试者的日常使用来说是可以接受的。我们展示了RELab tenoexo的设计；一种用于日常活动的完全可穿戴的辅助软质手部外骨骼。我们展示了一种手部模块的简洁机制，该机制可以产生四种最常用的抓握类型，采用了一种远程驱动系统，减轻了手部的重量。为了实现最佳协助和最高适应性，我们展示了各种设计和控制选项来定制模块化设备，以及一种自动定制算法，该算法可以为个体用户自动生成手部模块。机械评估表明，RELab tenoexo覆盖了在高达80%的抓握活动中协助用户所需的运动范围和指尖力。在用户测试中，我们发现低重量、不显眼的尺寸、高穿着舒适度和吸引人的外观有利于用户在日常生活中的接受度和可用性。最后，我们证明了RELab tenoexo能立即改善一名脊髓损伤受试者的功能性抓握能力。
