Development of elbow rehabilitation equipment using pneumatic muscles

Abstract

Applying continuous passive movements (CPM) to the injured joints represents a viable solution for the rehabilitation of patients with posttraumatic disabilities of the elbow. In order to effectively implement CPM-based rehabilitation procedures, the development of new solutions for high performance equipment serves the interest of both medical facilities and patients. This paper deals with a study of the kinematics, construction and actuation of such new rehabilitation equipment using continuous passive motion. The actuation of this equipment is achieved by two pairs of linear pneumatic muscles.