STTR Phase I: Motion Assisted Hand Exoskeleton with Virtual Reality (MAVHEXO) for Post Stroke Rehabilitation

这个小型技术转移第一阶段项目将实现一种感应式软机器人手外骨骼，并结合交互式3D虚拟现实(VR)游戏环境，为中风患者的手提供精细的运动训练。目前缺乏提供手部精细感觉和运动训练的可用设备。潜在的好处是填补了这一利基市场机会，特别是考虑到由于中风和其他神经肌肉骨骼损伤而导致的手部残疾的高发生率。这个系统可以提供需要最少治疗师监督的结构化治疗会议，同时提高患者的参与度，从而增强更广泛的参与度。作为目前康复实践的一项免费技术，它有可能降低与神经康复相关的医疗保健和劳动力成本。门诊身体康复市场是一个价值300亿美元的行业，在美国以7%的速度增长，这主要是由于不断增长的老年人口。机器人辅助康复市场预计将大幅增长，到2020年将达到20亿美元。随着机器人辅助治疗的普及，客户群将从急性护理诊所增长到长期康复中心，最终发展到基于家庭的护理。这个项目的智力优势来自于将软机器人系统与精细的运动控制相结合，并将其与VR游戏同步，以实现感官和运动刺激。机器人外骨骼提供个人关节控制来练习复杂的抓取，而VR环境提供有针对性的康复游戏。该系统满足了目前仅提供粗大运动的手康复设备所不能满足的精细运动控制需求。自适应算法将根据患者在虚拟游戏场景中完成分配任务的能力水平进行调整，为不同严重程度的广泛人群提供可访问性。该项目有三个主要目标。首先，我们将开发一个虚拟现实环境，通过与沉浸式游戏中的对象交互来模拟真实世界的手运动。其次，我们将开发用于软机器人外骨骼的自适应控制算法，以在VR环境中执行面向康复的任务时提供主动辅助运动。第三，将对健康人和手部受损的中风患者进行试点研究。第一阶段项目将在有针对性的康复虚拟游戏环境中生产一个具有辅助手部运动的系统，该系统可以在更大规模的中风幸存者的临床人群中进行有效性测试。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。

This Small Technology Transfer Phase I project will realize a sensorized soft robotic hand exoskeleton coupled with an interactive 3D virtual reality (VR) gaming environment that provides fine motor training for stroke patients' hands. There is a currently a lack of available devices that provide fine sensory and motor training of the hand. The potential benefit is to fill this niche market opportunity, especially when considering the high incidence of hand disability due to stroke and other neuromusculoskeletal injuries. This system can provide structured therapy sessions which requires minimal therapist supervision while improving patient engagement which enhances the broader participation. As a complimentary technology for current rehabilitation practice, it has a potential to lower health care and labor costs associated with neurological rehabilitation. The outpatient physical rehabilitation market is a $30 billion industry growing at a rate of 7% in the US, mainly due to the growing elderly population. The robot-assisted rehabilitation market is expected to grow dramatically, reaching $2 billion by 2020. As robot-assisted treatment becomes widely available, the customer base will grow from acute care clinics to long-term rehabilitation centers and finally to home-based care. The intellectual merit of this project results from the combination of a soft robotic system with fine motor control synced to VR games for both sensory and motor stimuli. The robotic exoskeleton provides individual joint control to practice complex grasping while the VR environment provides targeted rehabilitation games. This system addresses the fine motor control needs that have not been met by current hand rehabilitation devices, which only offer gross motions. Adaptive algorithms will adjust to the patient's level of ability to accomplish the assigned tasks in virtual game scenarios, providing accessibility for a wide range of population with different levels of severity. There are three main goals for the project. First, we will develop a VR environment simulating real-world hand motion via interaction with objects in an immersive game. Second, we will develop adaptive control algorithms for the soft robotic exoskeleton to provide active assistive motion in performing rehabilitation-oriented tasks in the VR environment. Third, a pilot study will be conducted with both healthy individuals and hand-impaired stroke patients. The Phase I project will produce a system with assistive hand motion in a targeted rehabilitation virtual game environment, which can be tested for efficacy in a larger clinical population of stroke survivors.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.