Investigating the use of Magneto-Rheological Fluid in an Active Compliant Actuator for a Stroke Rehabilitation System

Another great idea for trying to bring the hand back. From New Zealand
https://ssl.linklings.net/conferences/acra/program/attendee_program_acra2011/includes/files/pap130.pdf
The proposed device aims to replicate this
movement, actively exercising the fingers as illustrated in
Figure 3.









Figure 3. Desired finger exercise movements for the proposed
device.

Abstract
This paper investigates the use of magnetorheological
fluid in an active compliant actuator,
for intended use in a stroke rehabilitation system.
As magneto-rheological fluid is an emerging
technology, experiments were performed to test
the suitability of its use for stroke rehabilitation.
The proposed use of the system is to actively
exercise and strengthen the weakened hand of a
person affected by a stroke. It was found that in
the system’s current design, magneto-rheological
fluid was a feasible solution. Its viscosity was
dynamically controllable and the fluid was able
to supply the force and time response required.
However further work needs to be conducted to
address identified issues, such as settling, heating
and leakage of the fluid.