Current treatment for patients suffering from cervical spine injuries is by static braces which causes discomfort and immobilization of the neck. This paper presents a novel comfortable wearable therapy device for treating patients suffering with head/neck posture problems using parallel mechanism concept. To achieve this, a conceptual design of a threedegrees-of-freedom Revolute-Prismatic-Spherical configuration parallel manipulator with 3 extensible links is proposed. However, precision and workspace are the general considerations for designing a parallel manipulator. In this research, workspace and position analysis is carried out for the device. By applying geometrical method and vector-loop approach, the inverse kinematics equations are derived. The parallel manipulator is modeled using SOLIDWORKS and simulated using MATLAB. From the simulation results, stroke length of the actuators, angular tilt and position of the moving platform is obtained. To validate the simulation results a preliminary prototype is built and tests were carried. The obtained results found to be satisfying the cause of the research. Furthermore, the device needs to automated and safely operated under the therapist supervision.
This article demonstrates an innovative cervical collar device to facilitate patients suffering from chronic pain in the neck. The novelty of the collar from existing collars is this device enables the elderly people to create movement for the head while the collar is braced to the neck when the user is sitting, standing, and walking. As part of the treatment, experts suggest that the patient wear a cervical collar to arrest the motion of the neck, which causes discomfort. The developed device employs the conventional cervical collar as a frame around the neck, and in addition to this, parallel structured servo-based electric manipulators were arranged around the neck frame to support the neck motion. Experimental studies were carried out by testing the device under no-load condition and load condition. The experimental data demonstrate that (1) the collar can perform flexion, extension, and lateral bending for different test subjects and (2) an analytical approach is implemented to obtain the error while performing the motions. Based
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.