Hand rehabilitation device actuated by a pneumatic muscle

This paper analyzes the use of a McKibben pneumatic artificial muscle in a device for hand rehabilitation. This kind of actuator is widely implemented in several contexts related to human-machine mechanical interaction, such as robotics and rehabilitation, but a quantitative assessment of its suitability for such applications is often lacking. The structure of a system for retrieval of extension in a rigid finger is outlined, as well as the definition of operating characteristics like the finger workspace and the fingertip trajectory. A mathematical model for the whole system is presented, then the kinematic and static analyses are performed, leading to the calculation of the torques at the joints of the patient’s finger. Finally, the results of the simulations are discussed. The work demonstrates that the use of a pneumatic muscle can lead to the realization of an effective and well controlled rehabilitation system.