Active Tremor Estimation and Suppression in Human Elbow Joint

Abstract

A new control algorithm was developed for tremor estimation and suppression in a second order linear model of the human elbow joint. An adaptive method developed to estimate a simple harmonic disturbance was generalized for tremorous motion with spectral composition similar to the clinical reports for action tremor. Numerical simulations showed the ability of proposed controller to reduce tremor amplitude without generating significant resistance against voluntary motion of the arm. The designed algorithm can be used in an upper-limb orthosis to suppress debilitating tremorous motion of the arm.