Development of wearable rehabilitation device using parallel link mechanism: rehabilitation of compound motion combining palmar/dorsi flexion and radial/ulnar deviation

Abstract

In recent years, the total number of physical therapists is increasing in Japan. However, it is not sufficient to nurse of patients requiring long-term care. In order to cope with the shortage of manpower, it is desirable to develop the rehabilitation equipment. This paper describes the development of a wearable wrist rehabilitation training device using the parallel link mechanism. It is possible to train the translational and rotational motion of the wrist joint by the adoption of parallel links. Training of the translational motion of the wrist joint has not been discussed in existing methods. Therefore, compared to existing methods, this method can be expected to reduce the burden on the wrist joint. And it is possible to move about 60% of the wrist joint movable range of motion. This device performs repetitive training to prevent contracture of the wearer’s joints. In experiments, assumed wrist circumduction motion was trained to the six subjects. The correlation coefficient between the target trajectory and the training result was obtained and evaluated whether correct operation was trained. The validity of the proposed method was demonstrated.