At the National University of Singapore (NUS) a research team has developed a new rehabilitation device in order to help patients with loss of their hand functions. The lightweight gadget it's called EsoGlove.
According to a paper published by NUS, the new device is made of soft materials, being an improvement from the old conventional robotic hand rehabilitation devices. EsoGlove conforms to the natural movements of the human hand and features sensors with role in detecting of the muscle signals. The advanced device could reduce risk of injury and discomfort, is portable and compact and allows patients to recover at home with greater ease.
The NUS team comprises Asst. Prof. Yeow, PhD candidate Mr. Yap Hong Kai, the clinical collaborator Dr. Lim Jeong Hoon from the NUS Department of Medicine, as well as the undergraduate student Mr Benjamin Ang Wee Keong from the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Patients need to go through various rehabilitation programs in order to recover their hand functions, as explained by assistant Professor Raye Yeow from the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering, cited by Science Daily. Professor Yeow, a key member of the research team, is specialized in soft wearable robotics. He added that patients need to perform many repetitive tasks such as gripping and releasing objects during their recovery programs.
Because these rehab routines are often labor intensive, they were usually confined to clinical settings. The new robotic device has been designed with the purpose to enable patients to perform rehab exercises in diverse settings, including in the comfort of their own homes.
EsoGlove is equipped with technology able to detect and interpret muscle signals, and it can also assist patients in daily activities and tasks, such as holding a cup. Conventional robotic devices for hand rehabilitation used to be heavy and uncomfortable for patients, because they consist of rigid electro-mechanical components.
Assistant Professor Yeow explained that EsoGlove does not require complicated mechanical setups, since it is made entirely of soft components such as a main body made of fabric, featuring soft built-in actuators. The device comes with adjustable Velcro straps that enables it to adapt to different hand sizes.
