A study on power-assisted rehabilitation robot arms operated by patient with upper limb disabilities

Abstract

The rehabilitation arm is an upper limb orthosis for those with severe upper limb disabilities. The orthosis works by keeping certain arm positions and power assisting motions for the patient wearing the rehabilitation arm. It is designed for those who are able to make small movements in their arms. This robot has a bi-articular muscle type HBSA in its upper limb portion and the mechanism of the forearm portion imitates the human pronation/suspination motion. This system is designed to enable the user to operate the robot by his or herself. This paper concentrates on the control system of the rehabilitation arm from the detected pressure readings from the patient's arm movements.