Fatemeh Mohandesi 1  Alireza Mirbagheri  2  Hamid Khabiri 3  Mohammad M. Mirbagheri 4  Noureddin N. Ansari 5  Maryam Norouzi 6  Rouzbeh Kazemi 7  Mehrnaz Aghanouri 3

Abstract

Hand impairment, followed by stroke, causes significant deficits in performing different activities. Restoration of hand functions requires regular and repetitive therapy exercises. Although robotically physiotherapy systems have shown great promise in hand functions’ improvements, they are not widely and effectively used, as the needs and expectations of patients and physiotherapists have been ignored. In this paper, a 4-Degrees of freedom desktop-mounted robot is developed for four fingers and wrist rehabilitation, based on clinical observations. HandRoboHab provides the four mechanotherapy prevalent movements as follows: active, passive, active-assisted, and active resisted. In this study, the design and development of the robot are described. Then the efficiency and usability of the device are evaluated through two technical tests, and a preliminary clinical trial. The results of technical tests showed that HandRoboHab was able to cover the wrist range of motion of 99 to 203 degrees. Besides, the proposed device was capable of compensating its weight, which is a necessary step to accomplish the active modes exercises. In addition, clinical trial results showed that HandRoboHab was both operative and comfortable for patients with different hand sizes.

Keywords: Robotic physiotherapy  Rehabilitation  Hand impairment Control

https://doi.org/10.24200/sci.2023.59650.6362