DEVELOPMENT OF INTENTION DRIVEN REHABILITATION AND ASSISTIVE HAND EXOSKELETON CONTROL SYSTEM

LING, TIEW CHEON (2019) DEVELOPMENT OF INTENTION DRIVEN REHABILITATION AND ASSISTIVE HAND EXOSKELETON CONTROL SYSTEM. [Final Year Project Report] (Unpublished)

	PDF CHEON.pdf Download (2MB)
	PDF (Please get the password by email to repository@unimas.my, or call ext: 3914/ 3942/ 3933) Ling Tiew Cheon ft.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (3MB)

Abstract

Stroke is the third largest cause of death in Malaysia. Hand motor impairment is common disability among stroke survivors and severely affects their ability in activities of daily living (ADLs), reducing their independence and quality of life. Through rehabilitation process, stroke patients can regain partial hand motor function. However, conventional rehabilitation process is limited by insufficient number of therapists, labour-intensive, costly, has low patient’s compliance and provides inconsistent results. Some of the stroke patients still require assistance in ADLs even after year-long rehabilitation process. In overcome those limitations, several exoskeletons had been developed for rehabilitation and assistive purposes. One of them was Flexible Linkage Hand Exoskeleton Rehabilitation Robot (FLEXOR), a 3D-printed prototype hand exoskeleton actuated by linear actuators. FLEXOR required a control system that could recognize user’s motion intention so that stroke patients could perform exercises on their own and assist them in ADLs. FLEXOR can make rehabilitation more accessible and affordable, and improving post stroke quality of life. In response to such requirement, an Arduino based control system that was driven by electromyography (EMG) signal was developed. The new control system protected the hand against over-flexing and excessive application of force with flex sensors and force sensing resistors. The control system was programmed into three different operating modes which enable FLEXOR to provide passive exercises to wearer’s fingers, assist wearer in ADLs with minimal efforts, and provide active exercises while assisting wearer in ADLs. Programming of control system was refined through repeated session of pilot testing until a functional control system was developed. By using the developed control system, motion of FLEXOR was observed and recorded for analysis and comparison against program flowcharts and program codes

Actions (For repository members only: login required)

View Item