Supriyono Callista Shekar Ayu, Dragusanu Mihai, Malvezzi Monica
Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Jul 9;25(14):4263. doi: 10.3390/s25144263.
The development of wearable robotic exoskeletons has seen rapid progress in recent years, driven by the growing need for technologies that support motor rehabilitation, assist individuals with physical impairments, and enhance human capabilities in both clinical and everyday contexts. Within this field, elbow exoskeletons have emerged as a key focus due to the joint's essential role in upper limb functionality and its frequent impairment following neurological injuries such as stroke. With increasing research activity, there is a strong interest in evaluating these systems not only from a technical perspective but also in terms of user comfort, adaptability, and clinical relevance. This review investigates recent advancements in elbow exoskeleton technology, evaluating their effectiveness and identifying key design challenges and limitations. Devices are categorized based on three main criteria: mechanical structure (rigid, soft, or hybrid), actuation method, and sensing technologies. Additionally, the review classifies systems by their supported range of motion, flexion-extension, supination-pronation, or both. Through a systematic analysis of these features, the paper highlights current design trends, common trade-offs, and research gaps, aiming to guide the development of more practical, effective, and accessible elbow exoskeletons.
近年来，由于对支持运动康复、帮助身体有损伤的个体以及在临床和日常环境中增强人类能力的技术需求不断增长，可穿戴机器人外骨骼的发展取得了迅速进展。在这一领域中，肘部外骨骼已成为一个关键焦点，因为该关节在上肢功能中起着至关重要的作用，并且在诸如中风等神经损伤后经常受损。随着研究活动的增加，人们不仅强烈希望从技术角度评估这些系统，还希望从用户舒适度、适应性和临床相关性方面进行评估。本综述调查了肘部外骨骼技术的最新进展，评估了它们的有效性，并确定了关键的设计挑战和局限性。根据三个主要标准对设备进行分类：机械结构（刚性、柔性或混合）、驱动方法和传感技术。此外，综述还根据系统支持的运动范围（屈伸、旋前旋后或两者皆有）对系统进行分类。通过对这些特征的系统分析，本文突出了当前的设计趋势、常见的权衡以及研究差距，旨在指导开发更实用、有效且易于使用的肘部外骨骼。
