On the design of exoskeleton rehabilitation robot with ergonomic shoulder actuation mechanism

Abstract

Due to the advantages of more intensiveness, long duration, repeatability and task-orientation, robot-assistant training has become a promising technology in stroke rehabilitation. Comparing to the end-effector guided robots, exoskeleton robots provide better guidance on the posture of upper extremity, especially during movements with large ranges. Regarding the upper extremity, the natural coordination called shoulder rhythm is the most challenge to the ergonomic design of shoulder exoskeleton. Based on kinematic analysis of movement of shoulder complex,a nine degree-of-freedom exoskeleton rehabilitation with six degree-of-freedom shoulder actuation mechanism is proposed. In order to verify the manipulability of the proposed robot during assisting patient with performing activities of daily living (ADLs), the performance criteria, i.e., dexterity measure and manipulability ellipsoid, are used to evaluate and compare with human upper extremity. The evaluated result confirms the ergonomic design of shoulder mechanism of the rehabilitation robot on providing approximate dexterity matching that of human upper extremity in ADLs. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.