Design of a low-cost exoskeleton for hand tele-rehabilitation after stroke

Abstract

The impairment of finger movements after a stroke results in a significant deficit in hands everyday performances. To face this kind of problems different rehabilitation techniques have been developed, nevertheless, they require the presence of a therapist to be executed. To overcome this issue have been designed several apparatuses that allow the patient to perform the training by itself. Thus, an easy to use and effective device is needed to provide the right training and complete the rehabilitation techniques in the best way. In this paper, a review of state of the art in this field is provided, along with an introduction to the problems caused by a stroke and the consequences for the mobility of the hand. Then follows a complete review of the low cost home based exoskeleton project design. The objective is to design a device that can be used at home, with a lightweight and affordable structure and a fast mounting system. For implementing all these features, many aspects have been analysed, starting from the rehabilitation requirements and the ergonomic issues. This device should be able to reproduce the training movements on an injured hand without the need for assistance by an external tutor.