Design and Development of the Cable Actuated Finger Exoskeleton for Hand Rehabilitation Following Stroke

• Published in: IEEE/ASME transactions on mechatronics Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 131 - 140
• Main Authors: Jones, Christopher L., Furui Wang, Morrison, Robert, Sarkar, Nilanjan, Kamper, Derek G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.02.2014; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Cable actuated finger exoskeleton (CAFE); Cables; DC motors; Devices; Digits; Electronics packaging; Exoskeletons; Fingers; Force; hand rehabilitation; Joints; Performance evaluation; Rehabilitation; robot-assisted rehabilitation system; Robotics; Strokes; Torque; robot-assisted rehabilitation system; hand rehabilitation; Cable actuated finger exoskeleton (CAFE)
• ISSN: 1083-4435; 1941-014X
• DOI: 10.1109/TMECH.2012.2224359

Finger impairment following stroke results in significant deficits in hand manipulation and the performance of everyday tasks. While recent advances in rehabilitation robotics have shown promise for facilitating functional improvement, it remains unclear how best to employ these devices to maximize benefits. Current devices for the hand, however, lack the capacity to fully explore the space of possible training paradigms. Particularly, they cannot provide the independent joint control and levels of velocity and torque required. To fill this need, we have developed a prototype for one digit, the cable actuated finger exoskeleton (CAFE), a three-degree-of-freedom robotic exoskeleton for the index finger. This paper presents the design and development of the CAFE, with performance testing results.