Wearable Pressure Sensing for Vojta Therapy Guidance

Abstract

The authors propose a glove with pressure sensitive fingertips and muscle tension detection of the thumb to aid in the physiotherapy of infants, children and adults according to Vojta. The therapy has to be carried out at home by the parents of children with cerebral palsy, or other movement disturbances up to 4 times per day. Often, parents struggle to carry out the practices because of insecurities regarding the therapy’s proper application. The presented glove is tailored towards the specific needs of Vojta therapy, e.g. flexibility and small sensor size, and can help parents gather objective data on their therapy application at home. It has been tested in multiple therapy sessions on adult probands and seems to be a suitable tool to support parents and therapists in training alike. Additionally, the results of the accompanied therapy sessions provide arguments against what the critics have often cited about the painfulness of the therapy.

Keywords

• physiotherapy
• training and further education
• pressure sensing
• wearable
• therapy guidance