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Development of a whole arm wearable robotic exoskeleton for rehabilitation and to assist upper limb movements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2014

M. H. Rahman ,
M. J. Rahman ,
O. L. Cristobal ,
M. Saad ,
J. P. Kenné  and
P. S. Archambault
M. H. Rahman*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montréal, Canada School of Physical & Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
M. J. Rahman
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montréal, Canada
O. L. Cristobal
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montréal, Canada
M. Saad
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montréal, Canada
J. P. Kenné
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montréal, Canada
P. S. Archambault
Affiliation:
School of Physical & Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montréal, Canada Interdisciplinary Research Center in Rehabilitation (CRIR), Montréal, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: mhrahman@ieee.org
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Summary

To assist physically disabled people with impaired upper limb function, we have developed a new 7-DOF exoskeleton-type robot named Motion Assistive Robotic-Exoskeleton for Superior Extremity (ETS-MARSE) to ease daily upper limb movements and to provide effective rehabilitation therapy to the superior extremity. The ETS-MARSE comprises a shoulder motion support part, an elbow and forearm motion support part, and a wrist motion support part. It is designed to be worn on the lateral side of the upper limb in order to provide naturalistic movements of the shoulder (vertical and horizontal flexion/extension and internal/external rotation), elbow (flexion/extension), forearm (pronation/supination), and wrist joint (radial/ulnar deviation and flexion/extension). This paper focuses on the modeling, design, development, and control of the ETS-MARSE. Experiments were carried out with healthy male human subjects in whom trajectory tracking in the form of passive rehabilitation exercises (i.e., pre-programmed trajectories recommended by a therapist/clinician) were carried out. Experimental results show that the ETS-MARSE can efficiently perform passive rehabilitation therapy.

Keywords

Robotic exoskeletonNonlinear controlPhysical disabilityPassive rehabilitationUpper limb impairment
Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 19 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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