A muscle synergies-based controller to drive a powered upper-limb exoskeleton in reaching tasks.

This work introduces a real-time intention decoding algorithm grounded in muscle synergies (Syn-ID). The algorithm detects the electromyographic (EMG) onset and infers the direction of the movement during reaching tasks to control a powered shoulder-elbow exoskeleton. Features related to muscle synergies are used in a Gaussian Mixture Model and probability accumulation-based logic to infer the user's movement direction.

A Self-Aligning Upper-Limb Exoskeleton Preserving Natural Shoulder Movements: Kinematic Compatibility Analysis.

NESM- γ is an upper-limb exoskeleton to train motor functions of post-stroke patients. Based on the kinesiology of the upper limb, the NESM- γ includes a four degrees-of-freedom (DOF) active kinematic chain for the shoulder and elbow, along with a passive chain for self-aligning robotic joint axes with the glenohumeral (GH) joint's center of rotation. The passive chain accounts for scapulohumeral rhythm and trunk rotations.

MITEx: A Portable Hand Exoskeleton for Assessment and Treatment in Neurological Rehabilitation.

This work describes the design and preliminary characterization of a novel portable hand exoskeleton for poststroke rehabilitation. The platform actively mobilizes the index-metacarpophalangeal (I-MCP) joint, and it additionally offers individual rigid support to distal degrees of freedom (DoFs) of the index and thumb. The test-bench characterization proves the capability of the device to render torques at the I-MCP level with high fidelity within frequencies of interest for the application (up to 3 Hz).

The efficacy of hybrid neuroprostheses in the rehabilitation of upper limb impairment after stroke, a narrative and systematic review with a meta-analysis.

Background: Paresis of the upper limb (UL) is the most frequent impairment after a stroke. Hybrid neuroprostheses, i.e.