Magnetic resonance compatible hand rehabilitation robot Online publication date: Wed, 30-Apr-2014
by Zhenjin Tang; Shigeki Sugano; Hiroyasu Iwata
International Journal of Mechatronics and Automation (IJMA), Vol. 3, No. 2, 2013
Abstract: This paper presents the design, fabrication and evaluation of a magnetic resonance compatible finger rehabilitation robot, which can not only be used as a finger rehabilitation training tool after stroke, but also to study the brain's recovery process during the rehabilitation therapy (ReT). The mechanics of this robot are designed to be adjustable to different persons' finger phalanges, and also the gap between one finger to another can be easily changed. By using an ultrasonic motor as its actuator, it has been designed to be portable, with a high torque output. In addition, this robot also has been designed to overcome the intrinsic shortage of non-back drivability in ultrasonic motor, i.e., it can be used for both passive and active motion. The resulting system enables the patient to do extension and flexion rehabilitation exercises in two degrees of freedom (DOF) for each finger as well as one DOF motion on the thumb. Finally, experiments have been carried out to evaluate the performance of this robot.
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