Stroke Rehabilitation Glove Using Sensor Feedback and Assistive Actuation

Abstract

Stroke is one of the most prevalent forms of neurological impairment and often leads to paralysis of the upper extremities (usually the arm and hand). This paralysis impairs fine motor control, grip strength, and functional independence. The purpose of this study was to design, fabricate, and assess the capabilities of a real-time interactive glove for rehabilitation of the complete motor recovery of stroke victims through enhanced neural plasticity and assessment of functional movement. The rehabilitation glove incorporates flex sensors to detect finger bending, a servo-assisted actuation system to provide mechanical assistance to the user, a microcontroller-based control system to provide real-time feedback to the user about their movements, and performance data collection for each finger. The glove empowers users to complete rehabilitation exercises with proper biomechanical profiles and executes a sensor-based feedback mechanism to assist motor recovery after stroke. Data from 50 stroke patients was collected during rehabilitation sessions to provide the accuracy of the mapping of actuation to motion deficiencies from the spectators' finger movements and to allow for therapy completion assessments. The data from the flex sensors was used to assess the accuracy of the mapping of actuation due to motion deficiencies and the degree of improvement in finger range of motion during rehabilitation sessions with actuators. Finger movement detection and therapy completion accuracy with actuators were assessed with a 92% and an 87% accuracy, respectively, when averaged over multiple trials. Both the glove and the hardware configuration were able to provide real-time feedback, allowing for continuous monitoring and visualization of rehabilitation progress by clinicians. The results of this study suggest that the integration of sensor-based feedback with active actuation will improve the efficiency of rehabilitation for stroke survivors. The proposed glove holds great promise for providing individualized therapy, remote assessment, and home-based recovery for stroke patients.