An interactive soft robotic hand-task training system with wireless task boards and daily objects on post-stroke rehabilitation

• Published in: Wearable technologies Vol. 6; p. e4
• Main Authors: Shi, Xiangqian, Yang, Chengyu, Lee, Pak Chung, Xie, Disheng, Ye, Zhongping, Li, Zheng, Tong, Raymond Kai-yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Cambridge University Press 2025
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Actuators; daily task assistance; Design; End effectors; Fingers; Grasping (robotics); Human motion; Interactive control; Interactive systems; International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics 2023 (ICORR 2023); Magnetic fields; Pneumatics; Rehabilitation; robot-assisted therapy; Robotics; Soft robotics; Stroke; stroke rehabilitation; task-oriented training; stroke rehabilitation; task-oriented training; robot-assisted therapy; soft robotics; daily task assistance
• ISSN: 2631-7176; 2631-7176
• DOI: 10.1017/wtc.2024.10

We have developed an interactive system comprising a soft wearable robot hand and a wireless task board, facilitating the interaction between the hand and regular daily objects for task-oriented training in stroke rehabilitation. A ring-reinforced soft actuator (RSA) to accommodate different hand sizes and enable flexion and extension movements was introduced in this paper. Individually controlled finger actuators assist stroke patients during various grasping tasks. A wireless task board was developed to support the training, allowing for the placement of training objects and seamless interaction with the soft robotic hand. Evaluation with seven stroke subjects shows significant improvements in upper limb functions (FMA), hand-motor abilities (ARAT, BBT), and maximum grip strengths after 20 sessions of this task-oriented training. These improvements were observed to persist for at least 3 months post-training. The results demonstrate its potential to enhance stroke rehabilitation and promote hand-motor recovery. This lightweight, user-friendly interactive system facilitates frequent hand practice and easily integrates into regular rehabilitation therapy routines.