Abstract
This article presents a novel electromyography (EMG)-driven exoneuromusculoskeleton that integrates the neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), soft pneumatic muscle, and exoskeleton techniques, for self-help upper limb training after stroke. The developed system can assist the elbow, wrist, and fingers to perform sequential arm reaching and withdrawing tasks under voluntary effort control through EMG, with a lightweight, compact, and low-power requirement design. The pressure/torque transmission properties of the designed musculoskeletons were quantified, and the assistive capability of the developed system was evaluated on patients with chronic stroke (n = 10). The designed musculoskeletons exerted sufficient mechanical torque to support joint extension for stroke survivors. Compared with the limb performance when no assistance was provided, the limb performance (measured as the range of motion in joint extension) significantly improved when mechanical torque and NMES were provided (p
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 14-35 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Soft Robotics |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Dec 2020 |
Keywords
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- robot
- pneumatic muscle
- neuromuscular electrical stimulation