Hand Extension Robot Orthosis (HERO) Grip Glove: enabling independence amongst persons with severe hand impairments after stroke

I can't even find a picture of these to determine if spastic fingers would be able to get in them without three therapists manipulating the fingers.

Hand Extension Robot Orthosis (HERO) Grip Glove: enabling independence amongst persons with severe hand impairments after stroke

• Aaron Yurkewich,
• Illya J. Kozak,
• Debbie Hebert,
• Rosalie H. Wang &
• Alex Mihailidis 

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation volume 17, Article number: 33 (2020) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

The Hand Extension Robot Orthosis (HERO) Grip Glove was iteratively designed to meet requests from therapists and persons after a stroke who have severe hand impairment to create a device that extends all five fingers, enhances grip strength and is portable, lightweight, easy to put on, comfortable and affordable.

Methods

Eleven persons who have minimal or no active finger extension (Chedoke McMaster Stage of Hand 1–4) post-stroke were recruited to evaluate how well they could perform activities of daily living and finger function assessments with and without wearing the HERO Grip Glove.

Results

The 11 participants showed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.01), while wearing the HERO Grip Glove, in the water bottle grasp and manipulation task (increase of 2.3 points, SD 1.2, scored using the Chedoke Hand and Arm Inventory scale from 1 to 7) and in index finger extension (increase of 147^o, SD 44) and range of motion (increase of 145^o, SD 36). The HERO Grip Glove provided 12.7 N (SD 8.9 N) of grip force and 11.0 N (SD 4.8) of pinch force to their affected hands, which enabled those without grip strength to grasp and manipulate blocks, a fork and a water bottle, as well as write with a pen. The participants were ‘more or less satisfied’ with the HERO Grip Glove as an assistive device (average of 3.3 out of 5 on the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology 2.0 Scale). The highest satisfaction scores were given for safety and security (4.6) and ease of use (3.8) and the lowest satisfaction scores were given for ease of donning (2.3), which required under 5 min with assistance(This is not good, you have to be able to put it on yourself. That is the reason I quit using the Saeboflex splint.). The most common requests were for greater grip strength and a smaller glove size for small hands.

Conclusions

The HERO Grip Glove is a safe and effective tool for enabling persons with a stroke that have severe hand impairment to incorporate their affected hand into activities of daily living, which may motivate greater use of the affected upper extremity in daily life to stimulate neuromuscular recovery.