A Novel Soft Robotic Exoskeleton System for Hand Rehabilitation and Assistance Purposes

Abstract

During the last decade, soft robotic systems, such as actuators and grippers, have been employed in various commercial applications. Due to the need to integrate robotic mechanisms into devices operating alongside humans, soft robotic systems concentrate increased scientific interest in tasks with intense human–robot interaction, especially for human-exoskeleton applications. Human exoskeletons are usually utilized for assistance and rehabilitation of patients with mobility disabilities and neurological disorders. Towards this direction, a fully functional soft robotic hand exoskeleton system was designed and developed, utilizing innovative air-pressurized soft actuators fabricated via additive manufacturing technologies. The CE-certified system consists of a control glove that copies the motion from the healthy hand and passes the fingers configuration to the exoskeleton applied on the affected hand, which consists of a soft exoskeleton glove (SEG) controlled with the assistance of one-axis flex sensors, micro-valves, and a proportional integral derivative (PID) controller. Each finger of the SEG moves independently due to the finger-dedicated motion control system. Furthermore, the real-time monitoring and control of the fabricated SEG are conducted via the developed software. In addition, the efficiency of the exoskeleton system was investigated through an experimental validation procedure with the involvement of healthy participants (control group) and patients, which evaluated the efficiency of the system, including safety, ergonomics, and comfort in its usage.