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Salvietti G, Franco L, Tschiersky M, Wolterink G, Bianchi M, Bicchi A, Barontini F, Catalano M, Grioli G, Poggiani M, Rossi S, Prattichizzo D. Integration of a Passive Exoskeleton and a Robotic Supernumerary Finger for Grasping Compensation in Chronic Stroke Patients: The SoftPro Wearable System. Front Robot AI 2021; 8:661354. [PMID: 34179107 PMCID: PMC8222583 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2021.661354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Upper-limb impairments are all-pervasive in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). As a consequence, people affected by a loss of arm function must endure severe limitations. To compensate for the lack of a functional arm and hand, we developed a wearable system that combines different assistive technologies including sensing, haptics, orthotics and robotics. The result is a device that helps lifting the forearm by means of a passive exoskeleton and improves the grasping ability of the impaired hand by employing a wearable robotic supernumerary finger. A pilot study involving 3 patients, which was conducted to test the capability of the device to assist in performing ADLs, confirmed its usefulness and serves as a first step in the investigation of novel paradigms for robotic assistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gionata Salvietti
- Siena Robotics and Systems Laboratory Group, Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Leonardo Franco
- Siena Robotics and Systems Laboratory Group, Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Martin Tschiersky
- Chair of Precision Engineering, Department of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
| | - Gerjan Wolterink
- Biomedical Signals and Systems (BSS) and Robotics and Mechatronics (RAM) Group, Department of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
| | - Matteo Bianchi
- Research Centre "E. Piaggio" and Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Antonio Bicchi
- Soft Robotics for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Barontini
- Soft Robotics for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Manuel Catalano
- Soft Robotics for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Giorgio Grioli
- Soft Robotics for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Mattia Poggiani
- Soft Robotics for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Simone Rossi
- Brain Investigation and Neuromodulation Lab, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Domenico Prattichizzo
- Siena Robotics and Systems Laboratory Group, Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
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Tschiersky M, Hekman EEG, Brouwer DM, Herder JL, Suzumori K. A Compact McKibben Muscle Based Bending Actuator for Close-to-Body Application in Assistive Wearable Robots. IEEE Robot Autom Lett 2020. [DOI: 10.1109/lra.2020.2975732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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