Anthropomorphic passive mechanism for performing hand exercises
Uribe-Quevedo, A.; Leon-Rodriguez, H.; Perez-Gutierrez, B.
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics 196: 446-448
2014
ISSN/ISBN: 1879-8365 PMID: 24732553 Document Number: 676000
Hand disabilities resulting from traumas, accidents and other causes impact how people carry on everyday tasks, thus, the importance of physical therapy. This process is characterized for performing repetitive sequences of motion with the guidance of a physical therapist, and in some cases, requires doing the therapy without attendance, which may lead to unsatisfactory results due to pain, unclear guides and poor feedback on their performance. This paper presents the development of a humanoid passive mechanism for hand exercising using its limbs for achieving flexion/extension, pronation/supination and radial/ulnar deviations. Preliminary tests show an interest in having similar devices for hand training associated as a leisure activity that could be used as a stress reliever that allows entertaining while training.