https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12984-018-0350-6
- Chia-Ye Chu and
- Rita M. PattersonEmail authorView ORCID ID profile
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation201815:9
© The Author(s). 2018
Received: 5 July 2017
Accepted: 5 February 2018
Published: 17 February 2018
Abstract
Introduction
The debilitating effects on
hand function from a number of a neurologic disorders has given rise to
the development of rehabilitative robotic devices aimed at restoring
hand function in these patients. To combat the shortcomings of previous
traditional robotics, soft robotics are rapidly emerging as an
alternative due to their inherent safety, less complex designs, and
increased potential for portability and efficacy. While several groups
have begun designing devices, there are few devices that have progressed
enough to provide clinical evidence of their design’s therapeutic
abilities. Therefore, a global review of devices that have been
previously attempted could facilitate the development of new and
improved devices in the next step towards obtaining clinical proof of
the rehabilitative effects of soft robotics in hand dysfunction.
Methods
A literature search was
performed in SportDiscus, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science for
articles related to the design of soft robotic devices for hand
rehabilitation. A framework of the key design elements of the devices
was developed to ease the comparison of the various approaches to
building them. This framework includes an analysis of the trends in
portability, safety features, user intent detection methods, actuation
systems, total DOF, number of independent actuators, device weight,
evaluation metrics, and modes of rehabilitation.
Results
In this study, a total of 62
articles representing 44 unique devices were identified and summarized
according to the framework we developed to compare different design
aspects. By far, the most common type of device was that which used a
pneumatic actuator to guide finger flexion/extension. However, the
remainder of our framework elements yielded more heterogeneous results.
Consequently, those results are summarized and the advantages and
disadvantages of many design choices as well as their rationales were
highlighted.
Conclusion
The past 3 years has seen a
rapid increase in the development of soft robotic devices for hand
rehabilitative applications. These mostly preclinical research
prototypes display a wide range of technical solutions which have been
highlighted in the framework developed in this analysis. More work needs
to be done in actuator design, safety, and implementation in order for
these devices to progress to clinical trials. It is our goal that this
review will guide future developers through the various design
considerations in order to develop better devices for patients with hand
impairments.
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