Development of a series wrapping cam mechanism for energy transfer in wearable arm support applications.

An estimated 17 million individuals suffer a stroke each year with over 5 million resulting in permanent disability. For many of these, the provision of gravity support to the impaired upper limb can provide significant and immediate improvement in arm mobility. This added mobility has the potential to improve arm function and user independence overall, but, so far, wearable arm supports have found only limited uptake by end-users.

Design of a spring-assisted exoskeleton module for wrist and hand rehabilitation.

This paper reports on the development of a low-profile exoskeleton module to enable training of the fingers and thumb in grasp and release tasks. The design has been made as an add-on module for use with the ArmAssist arm rehabilitation system (Tecnalia, Spain). Variable-position springs and adjustable link lengths provide adaptability to fit a variety of users.