Evolution Innovation Lab, Advanced Robotics Centre, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2023 Sep 21;20(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s12984-023-01250-4.
Chronic stroke patients usually experience reduced hand functions, impeding their ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) independently. Additionally, improvements in hand functions by physical therapy beyond six months after the initial onset of stroke are much slower than in the earlier months. As such, chronic stroke patients could benefit from an assistive device to enhance their hand functions, allowing them to perform ADLs independently daily. In recent years, soft robotics has provided a novel approach to assistive devices for motor impaired individuals, offering more compliant and lightweight alternatives to traditional robotic devices. The scope of this study is to demonstrate the viability of a fabric-based soft robotic (SR) glove with bidirectional actuators in assisting chronic stroke study participants with hand impairments in performing ADLs.
Force and torque measurement tests were conducted to characterize the SR Glove, and hand functional tasks were given to eight chronic stroke patients to assess the efficacy of the SR Glove as an assistive device. The tasks involved object manipulation tasks that simulate ADLs, and the series of tasks was done by the participants once without assistance for baseline data, and once while using the SR Glove. A usability questionnaire was also given to each participant after the tasks were done to gain insight into how the SR Glove impacts their confidence and reliance on support while performing ADLs.
The SR Glove improved the participants' manipulation of objects in ADL tasks. The difference in mean scores between the unassisted and assisted conditions was significant across all participants. Additionally, the usability questionnaire showed the participants felt more confident and less reliant on support while using the SR Glove to perform ADLs than without the SR Glove.
The results from this study demonstrated that the SR Glove is a viable option to assist hand function in chronic stroke patients who suffer from hand motor impairments.
慢性中风患者通常手部功能受损，难以独立完成日常生活活动（ADLs）。此外，中风发作后 6 个月内，通过物理治疗改善手部功能的速度比早期要慢得多。因此，慢性中风患者可以受益于辅助设备来增强手部功能，使其能够每天独立完成 ADLs。近年来，软机器人为运动障碍患者的辅助设备提供了一种新方法，为传统机器人设备提供了更具顺应性和更轻量级的替代品。本研究旨在展示具有双向致动器的织物基软机器人（SR）手套在辅助手部功能障碍的慢性中风患者完成 ADLs 方面的可行性。
进行了力和扭矩测量测试以对 SR 手套进行特征描述，并向 8 名慢性中风患者进行了手部功能任务评估，以评估 SR 手套作为辅助设备的效果。这些任务涉及模拟 ADLs 的物体操作任务，参与者在没有辅助的情况下完成了一系列任务以获得基线数据，然后在使用 SR 手套的情况下完成了相同的任务。在任务完成后，还向每位参与者发放了一份易用性问卷，以了解 SR 手套对手表现在 ADLs 时的信心和对支持的依赖程度的影响。
SR 手套改善了参与者在 ADL 任务中对物体的操作。所有参与者的无辅助和辅助条件下的平均得分差异均具有统计学意义。此外，易用性问卷显示，参与者在使用 SR 手套完成 ADLs 时比没有使用 SR 手套时更有信心，对支持的依赖度更低。
这项研究的结果表明，SR 手套是一种可行的选择，可以辅助手部功能障碍的慢性中风患者，这些患者手部运动功能受损。
