Sandison Melissa, Phan Khue, Casas Rafael, Nguyen Lan, Lum Michael, Pergami-Peries Matteo, Lum Peter S
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020 Jul;2020:4867-4872. doi: 10.1109/EMBC44109.2020.9175332.
We have developed HandMATE (Hand Movement Assisting Therapy Exoskeleton); a wearable motorized hand exoskeleton for home-based movement therapy following stroke. Each finger and the thumb is powered by a linear actuator which provides flexion and extension assistance. Force sensitive resistors integrated into the design measure grasp and extension initiation force. An assistive therapy mode is based on an admittance control strategy. We evaluated our control system via subject and bench testing. Errors during a grip force tracking task while using the HandMATE were minimal (<1%) and comparable to unassisted healthy hand performance. We also outline a dedicated app we have developed for optimal use of HandMATE at home. The exoskeleton communicates wirelessly with an Android tablet which features guided exercises, therapeutic games and performance feedback. We surveyed 5 chronic stroke patients who used the HandMATE device to further evaluate our system, receiving positive feedback on the exoskeleton and integrated app.
我们研发了HandMATE（手部运动辅助治疗外骨骼）；一种用于中风后家庭运动治疗的可穿戴电动手部外骨骼。每个手指和拇指均由一个线性致动器提供动力，该致动器可提供屈伸辅助。集成在设计中的力敏电阻可测量抓握力和伸展起始力。辅助治疗模式基于导纳控制策略。我们通过受试者测试和台架测试对我们的控制系统进行了评估。使用HandMATE时，握力跟踪任务期间的误差极小（<1%），与未辅助的健康手部表现相当。我们还概述了我们为在家中最佳使用HandMATE而开发的一款专用应用程序。外骨骼与一台安卓平板电脑进行无线通信，该平板电脑具有引导式练习、治疗游戏和性能反馈功能。我们对5名使用HandMATE设备的慢性中风患者进行了调查，以进一步评估我们的系统，获得了对外骨骼和集成应用程序的积极反馈。
