Posture Control of Hand Using Multi-balloon Actuator

Conference: ACTUATOR - International Conference and Exhibition on New Actuator Systems and Applications 2021
02/17/2021 - 02/19/2021 at Online

Proceedings: GMM-Fb. 98: ACTUATOR 2021

Pages: 4Language: englishTyp: PDF

Authors:
Koyanagi, Kenʼichi; Murabayashi, Tomoaki; Oshima, Toru; Tamamoto, Takumi (Toyama Prefectural University, Imizu, Toyama, Japan)
Kagechika, Kenji (Toyama Prefectural Rehabilitation Hospital & Support Center for Children with Disabilities, Toyama, Japan)

Abstract:
The digital mirror box is an original hand-rehabilitation device made by the authors whereby image processing and information technology is applied to a traditional mirror-box therapeutic device for post-stroke disorders. The digital mirror box requires some voluntary movement of the trainee, and a certain actuation element therefore needs to be applied to patients who suffer severe paralysis. We thus developed a multi-balloon actuator for application in force-stimulus feedback therapy with the digital mirror box. The actuator is made of easily available material, generates a strong force, and is suitable for safe hand rehabilitation. This paper reports the posture control of a hand that cannot open voluntarily by inner pressure control according to the posture of the other hand in an experiment involving a healthy subject. Basic characteristics of the multi-balloon actuator are thus obtained.