PoRi device: portable hand assessment and rehabilitation after stroke

Abstract

Abstract Frequent rehabilitation exercises can accelerate the recovery of patient’s hand impairments after stroke. In conjunction with conventional therapy, the use of robot-assisted training has been proposed to increase the frequency of the latter, thus improving the overall recovery of patients. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced or even halted related programs in clinical rehabilitation centers that often utilize costly, complex, and non-transportable robotic devices. A possible therapy alternative is using low-cost in-home solutions which integrate well in home-based settings due to reduced size, weight, and complexity. Therefore, we propose a new portable hand training and assessment device which supports hand opening/closing and wrist exercises. The device also enables tasks related to the identification of vibration stimuli to be used both for training as well as for assessment of sensory-motor hand function of patients. To this end, a cable-driven capstan transmission mechanism, a controller to regulate the extension angle, and touch pads equipped with vibration motors were designed and integrated into a hand-held device. Initial user studies indicate that the prototype can support stroke patients in extending their fingers. In further experiments targeting the identification of vibration stimuli, assessment results comparable with those obtained via a standard clinical somatosensory assessment test were achieved. Given these initial findings, our low-cost system shows the potential to allow in-home rehabilitation exercises in daily life, thus maximizing exposure and frequency, even during a forced lockdown caused by a pandemic.