A smart glove to improve stroke rehabilitation

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Glove offers 'life changing' movement to stroke patients

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A smart glove to improve stroke rehabilitation

by University of Southampton

The stroke glove prototype on a lab model. Credit: University of Southampton

An electronic glove that enables movement in the paralyzed hand of stroke survivors to support their rehabilitation has been invented by a team from the University of Southampton.

The glove has electrodes printed on the sleeve that make contact with the skin. The electrodes send electronic impulses to stimulate the nerves and muscles to produce an artificial movement. It enables stroke survivors to achieve movement in their weak side, helping them to regain muscle strength and function.

The glove has been designed and made by Kai Yang, Professor of E-textiles in Healthcare, and her team based at the university's Winchester School of Art. Professor Yang explained, "I wanted to develop something easy for stroke survivors to use at home. People who have suffered a stroke get fatigued easily, so engaging in long rehabilitation sessions is very challenging. This glove enables them to work on their rehab in small blocks of time when it suits them. With stroke rehabilitation, the more you practice movement, the more you regain muscle strength and mobility."

The prototype glove has been developed and made at Winchester School of Art, using the school's industrial knitting machines. The electrodes are printed inside the sleeve and connected to an electronic control unit, allowing the user to vary the level of stimulation as required.

Professor Yang has worked with Different Strokes Southampton, a charity run by stroke survivors for stroke survivors, to develop the glove.

Through the charity, she has worked with stroke survivor Dave Lea, from Chandler's Ford. He suffered a major stroke in 2015, at the age of 54, that has left him largely paralyzed on his right-hand side. The glove enables him to move his paralyzed right hand. "It's life changing," he said. "It means I can move my hand—something I've been unable to do for eight years."

Mr. Lea's wife, Sarah, added, "It was really emotional seeing Dave test run the glove for the first time—it's incredible that it enables him to move his hand. It really could change the lives of stroke survivors."

Ranj Parmar, Group Coordinator at Different Strokes Southampton and a stroke survivor himself, added, "The benefits of the stroke rehabilitation sleeve are extremely impactful. It allows stroke survivors to be able to continue their rehab many weeks and months after their stroke. It enables a stroke survivor to open their affected hand and when performed repeatedly it should enable the opening and closing of the hand more easily."

Professor Yang is now looking to refine the design of the prototype glove by working with more stroke survivors, and then conduct a home usability test with stroke survivors using the glove multiple times every day. Following this, she intends to seek regulatory approval and then work with a manufacturer to scale-up the production of the glove.

"We are delighted with the prototype and would like to see this become a product that's available to all stroke survivors, to help improve their recovery and their quality of life," she said. 

 

Video at link.

Provided by University of Southampton

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Glove offers 'life changing' movement to stroke patients

Is it any better than all these other gloves?

Many gloves out there. Which is the best? Your doctor better know the answer.

• FES-Robotic Glove (1)

• Gyroscopic glove (1)

• HERO Grip Glove (1)

• music glove (1)

• RAPAEL Smart Glove (5)

• SaeboGlove (1)

• VTS Glove (1)

• EsoGlove (1)

 

Glove offers 'life changing' movement to stroke patients

By Alastair FeeHealth correspondent, BBC South Today

 

Video at link.

The glove sends electronic impulses to produce an artificial movement.

A prototype electronic glove that enables movement in paralysed hands is potentially "life-changing", stroke patients have said.

Developed at the University of Southampton, it is intended to help people regain muscle strength and function.

Printed electrodes make contact with the skin and send electronic impulses to produce an artificial movement.

Dave Lea, the first patient to try the device, said it was "breath-taking".

The glove is intended to help people regain muscle strength and function

By stimulating the nerves and muscles, it enables stroke survivors to achieve movement in their weak side, helping them to regain muscle strength and function.

Professor Kai Yang, who developed the glove, said it could be used by patients as part of their rehabilitation at home.

He said: "This glove enables them to work on their rehab in small blocks of time when it suits them.

"With stroke rehabilitation, the more you practice movement, the more you regain muscle strength and mobility."

Application of Novel Graphite Flex Sensors in Closed-Loop Angle Feedback on a Soft Robotic Glove for Stroke Rehabilitation

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Many gloves out there. Which is the best? Your doctor better know the answer.

• FES-Robotic Glove (1)

• Gyroscopic glove (1)

• HERO Grip Glove (1)

• music glove (1)

• RAPAEL Smart Glove (5)

• VTS Glove (1)

• EsoGlove (1)

Application of Novel Graphite Flex Sensors in Closed-Loop Angle Feedback on a Soft Robotic Glove for Stroke Rehabilitation

 

Goh, Aaron Jing-Yuan BEng; Yap, Hong-Kai PhD; Ramachandran, Gokula Krishnan PhD; Yeow, Chen-Hua PhD

Author Information

Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics: August 31, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

doi: 10.1097/JPO.0000000000000337

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Abstract

Introduction 

Stroke survivors require physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs to restore their hand function so that they can carry out activities of daily living (ADLs) independently. Soft robotic gloves are designed to assist in these rehabilitation programs and reduce manpower costs, but their pressure-activated actuation mechanisms require closed-loop position feedback to allow for finer motor coordination for the hands, thereby improving hand rehabilitation for patients who had stroke. We present a novel design of graphite-based flex sensors that we implemented in a soft robotic glove to evaluate its performance in closed-loop metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint angle feedback.

Materials and Methods 

The graphite-based flex sensors are embedded into a sensor glove and characterized in terms of baseline stability and drift, over 20 continuous loading cycles per trial for five times. Curve-fitting using both linear and nonlinear equations was done to determine the relationship between resistance and MCP joint angle, using Vicon MX motion capture system to obtain 3D coordinates and joint angles, as well as separate Arduino circuitry to obtain signal voltage samples.

Pneumatic pressures are regulated using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, with a safety factor (SF) of 1.2. Two control algorithms were developed to make use of angular feedback to control set point pressures: 1) Intent Recognition Mode makes use of a single MCP angle threshold at 50° to activate a maximum output pressure was set at 100 kPa (83.33 kPa after SF); and 2) Fixed Interval Assist Mode makes use of different MCP joint angle values (30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) to derive corresponding set point pressures set at 25, 50, 75, and 100 kPa (20.83, 41.67, 62.50, and 83.33 kPa after SF).

Results 

Nonlinear equations consistently provided a reasonably better fit as compared with the linear equation fit. However, in this work, the linear MCP joint angle models are preferred as a calibration method, because nonlinear equations are hard to implement in control algorithms in practice. PID control for Intent Recognition activates and deactivates at approximately 18% and 95% of each full flexion-extension exercise cycle progression, respectively. For Fixed Interval Assist Mode, thumb MCP joint angle feedback is less repeatable compared with that of the other fingers in the same experiment, possibly because of the difficulty in placement of the sensor at the thumb MCP joint, close proximity to other sensors, and physiological crosstalk between the fingers.

Conclusions 

This work has presented a novel integration and implementation of graphite-based flex sensors with a soft robotic glove for stroke rehabilitation. The relationship between the signal voltage and the MCP joint angle varies greatly with anatomical differences between each individual, and with sensor placement. However, based on the experimental results, a linear mapping calibration algorithm for the graphite-based flex sensors was implemented, which also complements its robustness for the potential application on stroke rehabilitation. The effectiveness of the calibration algorithm is also thus demonstrated via the Intent Recognition and Fixed Angle Assist control algorithms.

© 2020 by the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists.

Softer robotic glove for stroke patient

I can't tell from the picture but anything that resembles a true glove will be impossible to get on a spastic hand. Hope they have designed for it. By picking up muscle signals from the forearm they are missing out helping people like me(Those control areas are dead in me and thus not sending any signals).  A great stroke association would know about this and be in contact with research teams to make sure they understand stroke survivors needs. But we have craptastic stroke associations instead. Your doctor should have already analyzed these 36 posts on gloves and 127 posts on hand and 36 on fingers to know exactly how to recover your hand and see if this new one is better. But I bet s/he doesn't have any clue how to recover your hand.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/softer-robotic-glove-for-stroke-patients

A team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has invented a robotic glove with rubbery "fingers" designed to help stroke patients with rehabilitation.
It detects a patient's intention to perform a hand action, such as picking up a pen, and helps the patient move his or her fingers to accomplish the task.
Unlike traditional metal gloves used for rehabilitation, the new glove is made of stretchy cloth and silicone rubber. It weighs around 200g - significantly lighter than the alternatives, which are usually between 400g and 500g.
The new glove also better mimics a patient's natural hand movements, say doctors, and is more comfortable to wear.
"The usual hard robotic gloves have rigid linkages and joints, and they can cause quite a lot of discomfort for patients," said Assistant Professor Raye Yeow, who is from the university's department of biomedical engineering.

"They don't provide the natural range of movement," said Prof Yeow, who specialises in soft robotics and is a key member of the research team.
There was an average of 5,868 stroke incidences each year from 2005 to 2013, according to the National Registry of Diseases Office.
A stroke can leave a person partially paralysed on one side of his body, including the hand.
"The purpose of (such gloves) is to prevent stiffness and wasting of the muscle by mobilising the joints," Prof Yeow said.
The team's invention is equipped with radio frequency identification technology, which tells the glove which hand posture to adopt.
Faced with an object tagged as an egg, for example, the glove flexes into a pinching position, rather than the grip one uses to hold a water bottle.
The next step, said Prof Yeow, is to conduct a six-month trial on 30 stroke patients to look at how effective the glove is in helping them recover hand function.
Using magnetic resonance imaging, the team will also see how the patient's brain is stimulated during such therapy sessions.
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Robotic glove to help rehab patients. http://str.sg/ZHhw