A wearable soft pneumatic finger glove with antagonistic actuators for finger rehabilitation

Abstract

Loss of grasping ability in stroke patients can be partially cured through regular rehabilitation exercises. This paper aimed at the design and development of a soft robotic finger glove capable of producing two necessary motions for rehabilitaion-flexion and extension, by making use of antagonistic soft actuators. The glove was characterized through a series of experiments to study its variance in bending angle and force output with pressure. The glove showed a maximum bending angle of 68° and a maximum force of 120gf corresponding to an internal pressure of 30kPa. The developed finger glove seems to be a promising device that may improve the quality of life of stroke survivals and help them in hand rehabilitation in the comfort of their home.