Variable Stiffness Soft Actuator For Hand Rehabilitation

Published: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10617678

Problem & Purpose:

  • Upper limb rehabilitation devices for stroke patients available in the market typically offer a singular therapy involving repetitive grasping motions, limiting hand grip configurations.
  • Hand rehabilitation therapies with complex finger movements improve hand functionality during rehabilitation training.
  • Joint-blocking finger rehabilitation therapies have yielded improved hand functionality while reducing discomfort experienced by patients.

Proposed Solution:

3D printable pneumatically actuated soft actuator design with sliding chamber and position controlled stiffness beam.

Provisional patent approved

Solution Development

Results

FEA

Experiment