PFI (MCA): Self-Contained Soft Robotic Rehabilitation Device for Finger Extension Exercises

这一创新伙伴关系-职业发展中期(PFI-MCA)项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改善中风或神经运动障碍患者获得手指和手康复的机会。反过来，这又加速了他们的复苏。它可以降低握拳患者的总体成本，这种患者表现为肌肉活动过度活跃和手指屈肌过度紧张，降低了执行手指伸展的能力。为了恢复手和手指的运动功能，患者必须进行基于活动的治疗，每天重复手和手指的特定练习。有限的治疗机会使患者难以坚持如此高强度的康复程序。因此，可以在患者家中协助和监控这些重复时刻的机器人设备可能会改善康复的机会，并促进更可持续的康复过程。目前市场上出售的气动软机器人康复手套无法打开握紧拳头的中风患者的手指。在没有帮助的情况下，患者也很难穿上它们。针对现有康复手套的缺陷，该项目开发了一种自给式、无限制的软机器人装置，该装置由相变材料制成，由热驱动，用于辅助紧握拳头患者的手指伸展康复练习。拟议的项目将设计、原型和测试一种热驱动、自给自足的软机器人装置，以辅助中风后握拳患者的居家手康复。研究的优点和预期成果包括：1.设计并制作了一种自给自足的伸指软体机器人装置：考虑到握拳患者张开手指的能力，该设计为手指提供了主动伸展辅助。利用相变材料-弹性体复合材料形成独特的固化弹性体结构，该项目将设计并制作一种软机器人设备，该设备在中性状态下适合紧握的拳头，并在被驱动时推动手指打开。2.测试-从机械和人体受试者测试中收集的数据将用于分析设备的有效性，并为未来更大规模的临床试验估计参与者数量，以使设计更接近于市场产品。3.专门设计了研究特定于中风患者报告的体验测量(PREM)的调查工具：调查工具和结果可适用于对中风患者的PREM感兴趣的其他人，并验证拟议设计所需的功能和规格，以支持质量改进和加强以患者为中心的护理。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation – Mid Career Advancement (PFI-MCA) project is in improving accessibility to finger and hand rehabilitation for patients suffering from stroke or neurological movement disorders. In turn, it speeds up their recoveries. It could reduce the overall costs for patients with clenched fists, which present as overactive muscle activity and excessive tightness of the finger flexors, decreasing the ability to perform finger extension. To regain hand and finger motor functions, patients must engage in activity-based therapy to repeat hand- and finger-specific exercises daily. Limited access to therapy makes it challenging for patients to adhere to such a high-intensity rehabilitation routine. Hence, robotic devices that can assist and monitor these repetitive moments at a patient’s home could potentially improve access to rehabilitation and promote a more sustainable recovery process. Pneumatically actuated soft robotic rehabilitation gloves currently available on the market cannot open the fingers of a stroke patient with clenched fists. They are also difficult for patients to put on without assistance. Addressing existing rehabilitation gloves' drawbacks, this project develops a self-contained, unrestricted soft robotic device made with phase-changing materials and actuated by heat to assist finger extension rehabilitation exercises for patients with clenched fists.The proposed project will design, prototype, and test a thermally driven, self-contained soft robotic device to assist at-home hand rehabilitation for patients with clenched fists after stroke. The research merits and expected outcomes include: 1. Design and prototype a self-contained soft robotic device for finger extension exercises: Considering the ability to open fingers for patients with clenched fists, the proposed design provides active extension assistance to fingers. Using phase-changing material material-elastomer composites to form a unique curing elastomer structure, this project will design and prototype a soft robotic device that fits under the clenched fist in its neutral state and pushes fingers open when actuated. 2. Testing- Data collected from mechanical and human subject testing will be used to analyze the device's efficacy and to estimate participant numbers for future, larger-scale clinical trials to take the design one step closer to a marketable product. 3. Specifically designed survey instruments to study stroke-specific patient-reported experience measures (PREMs): Survey instruments and results could apply to others interested in PREMs for stroke patients and verify the function and specifications needed for the proposed design to support quality improvement and enhance patient-centered care.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.