An Instrumented Glove-Controlled Portable Hand-Exoskeleton for Bilateral Hand Rehabilitation

Shih-Hung Yang; Chia-Lin Koh; Chun-Hang Hsu; Po-Chuan Chen; Jia-Wei Chen; Yu-Hao Lan; Yi Yang; Yi-De Lin; Chun-Hung Wu; Hsien-Kuang Liu; Yu-Chun Lo; Guan-Tze Liu; Chao-Hung Kuo; You-Yin Chen

doi:10.3390/bios11120495

Biosensors (Dec 2021)

An Instrumented Glove-Controlled Portable Hand-Exoskeleton for Bilateral Hand Rehabilitation

Shih-Hung Yang,
Chia-Lin Koh,
Chun-Hang Hsu,
Po-Chuan Chen,
Jia-Wei Chen,
Yu-Hao Lan,
Yi Yang,
Yi-De Lin,
Chun-Hung Wu,
Hsien-Kuang Liu,
Yu-Chun Lo,
Guan-Tze Liu,
Chao-Hung Kuo,
You-Yin Chen

Affiliations

Shih-Hung Yang: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Chia-Lin Koh: Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
Chun-Hang Hsu: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan
Po-Chuan Chen: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Jia-Wei Chen: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
Yu-Hao Lan: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
Yi Yang: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
Yi-De Lin: Department of Mechanical and Computer-Aided Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, Taiwan
Chun-Hung Wu: Department of Mechanical and Computer-Aided Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, Taiwan
Hsien-Kuang Liu: Department of Mechanical and Computer-Aided Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, Taiwan
Yu-Chun Lo: College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
Guan-Tze Liu: Department of Medical Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112201, Taiwan
Chao-Hung Kuo: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
You-Yin Chen: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11120495
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 12
p. 495

Abstract

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Effective bilateral hand training is desired in rehabilitation programs to restore hand function for people with unilateral hemiplegia, so that they can perform daily activities independently. However, owing to limited human resources, the hand function training available in current clinical settings is significantly less than the adequate amount needed to drive optimal neural reorganization. In this study, we designed a lightweight and portable hand exoskeleton with a hand-sensing glove for bilateral hand training and home-based rehabilitation. The hand-sensing glove measures the hand movement of the less-affected hand using a flex sensor. Thereafter, the affected hand is driven by the hand exoskeleton using the measured hand movements. Compared with the existing hand exoskeletons, our hand exoskeleton improves the flexible mechanism for the back of the hand for better wearing experience and the thumb mechanism to make the pinch gesture possible. We designed a virtual reality game to increase the willingness of repeated movement practice for rehabilitation. Our system not only facilitates bilateral hand training but also assists in activities of daily living. This system could be beneficial for patients with hemiplegia for starting correct and sufficient hand function training in the early stages to optimize their recovery.

Published in Biosensors

ISSN: 2079-6374 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Biotechnology
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/biosensors

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