An optimisation problem for exoskeleton-aided functional rehabilitation of an upper extremity

Abstract

With pandemics, a problem of non-guaranteed constant access to rehabilitation aroused. As civilisation diseases attack a significant share of the population, providing motor treatment seems to be one of the biggest challenges towards the healthcare system of the future. While taking into account the severe level of disabilities and unexpected circumstances, the trainings may require being held in a house of a patient. Moreover, due to emergencies, a physiotherapist may not be able to participate in it personally. Thus, to mitigate the repercussions of such situations, advanced mechatronic systems for remote-home-rehabilitation have to be developed. Moreover, surveyed physiotherapists, claim that function-oriented training, robot aid, remote treatment and home therapy are the leading trends for rehabilitation of the future. Combining these is relatively difficult, as automated robotic rehabilitation requires an advanced control system. As to partially support motion along the pre-programmed trails, an optimisation problem needs to be solved. Not only to follow the trail transitionally but also to control a tilt of a gripped object and to avoid immediate large changes of velocities and accelerations if not necessary. This paper presents an approach towards an optimisation problem based on an exoskeleton of three driven and two free degrees of freedom. Simulated function-oriented training consists of diverse typical motions, such as drinking, eating, writing, steering a control wheel, lifting a bag from the ground, and lifting an object onto a shelf. Based on these, an optimisation problem is formulated. Works presented in the paper are an integral part of a planned long-term research on a home-remote-rehabilitation with a use of an exoskeleton.

Simulation of a control method for active kinesiotherapy with an upper extremity rehabilitation exoskeleton without force sensor

“…The results of trials are presented in table 3. Most of the obtained velocities exceed the set limit for the elbow joint of 2.6 rad/s [20]. However, the test trials were used to assess the impact of the settings on obtained results.…”

“…Moreover, it can be used for lightweight assistive human exoskeletons [18] [19]. The investigation results will be implemented practically in the ExoReha exoskeleton developed by LUKASIEWICZ Research Network -Industrial Research Institute for Automation and Measurements PIAP [20][21] [22].…”

Simulation of a control method for active kinesiotherapy with an upper extremity rehabilitation exoskeleton without force sensor

“…5. Additionally, the maximum set torque of the motor was limited to 7 Nm [37] while the maximum angular velocity of the rotor was assumed as 2.6 rad s [29]. Performance on the system is analysed by comparing time shapes of the signals of intended torques generated by the patient in the joint and the acceleration of the drive's rotor.…”

“…This means that the presented approach is unique in using only the sensors already integrated with the drives and hard-coded algorithms. The investigation results will be implemented practically in the ExoReha exoskeleton developed by ŁUKASIEWICZ Research Network -Industrial Research Institute for Automation and Measurements PIAP [29][30][31].…”

The Overview of Challenges in Detecting Patients' Hazards During Robot-Aided Remote Home Motor Rehabilitation

“…As the therapist may be not provided with haptic feedback during remote home rehabilitation, developing a robust safety system is critical [80]. Such should analyse dynamics of the rehabilitated body segment and additional measurements to assess the safe operation of a user without involving a physiotherapist [23]. The following paper presents an approach to modelling patients' physical loads to detect potential pain or discomfort automatically.…”