scholarly journals Compact Design of A Lightweight Rehabilitative Exoskeleton for Restoring Grasping Function in Patients with Hand Paralysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaheh Nazari ◽  
Majid Pouladian ◽  
Yong-Ping Zheng ◽  
Monzurul Alam
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Robotic Hand ◽  
Hand Functions ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Hand Exoskeleton ◽  
Compact Design ◽  
Finger Control

Abstract BackgroundMillions of individuals suffer from upper extremity paralysis caused by neurological disorders including stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other medical conditions. In order to restore motor control and enhance the quality of life of these patients, daily exercises and strengthening training are necessary. Robotic hand exoskeletons can substitute for the missing motor control and help to restore the functions performed in daily operations. They can also facilitate neuroplasticity to help rehabilitate hand function through routine use. However, most of the hand exoskeletons are bulky, stationary, and cumbersome to use.Methods We have utilized a recent design of a hand exoskeleton (Tenoexo) and modified the design to prototype a motorized, lightweight, fully wearable rehabilitative hand exoskeleton by combining rigid parts with a soft mechanism capable of producing various grasps needed for the execution of daily tasks. We have tested the performance of our developed hand exoskeleton in restoring hand functions in two quadriplegics with chronic cervical cord injury.ResultsMechanical evaluation of our exoskeleton showed that it can produce fingertip force up to 8 N and can cover 91.5 degree of range of motion in just 3 seconds. We further tested the robot in two quadriplegics with chronic hand paralysis, and observed immediate success on independent grasping of different daily objects. ConclusionsThe results suggest that our exoskeleton is a viable option for hand function assistance, allowing patients to regain lost finger control for everyday activities.

scholarly journals Improvement of hand functions of spinal cord injury patients with electromyography-driven hand exoskeleton: A feasibility study

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngmok Yun ◽  
Youngjin Na ◽  
Paria Esmatloo ◽  
Sarah Dancausse ◽  
Alfredo Serrato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Finger Movements ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Hand Exoskeleton

Abstract We have developed a one-of-a-kind hand exoskeleton, called Maestro, which can power finger movements of those surviving severe disabilities to complete daily tasks using compliant joints. In this paper, we present results from an electromyography (EMG) control strategy conducted with spinal cord injury (SCI) patients (C5, C6, and C7) in which the subjects completed daily tasks controlling Maestro with EMG signals from their forearm muscles. With its compliant actuation and its degrees of freedom that match the natural finger movements, Maestro is capable of helping the subjects grasp and manipulate a variety of daily objects (more than 15 from a standardized set). To generate control commands for Maestro, an artificial neural network algorithm was implemented along with a probabilistic control approach to classify and deliver four hand poses robustly with three EMG signals measured from the forearm and palm. Increase in the scores of a standardized test, called the Sollerman hand function test, and enhancement in different aspects of grasping such as strength shows feasibility that Maestro can be capable of improving the hand function of SCI subjects.

scholarly journals Hand function recovery using nerve segment insert grafting in patients with chronic incomplete lower cervical spinal cord injury: a preliminary clinical report

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbin Ding ◽  
Shaocheng Zhang ◽  
Dajiang Wu ◽  
Yanpeng Zhang ◽  
Hualong Ye
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Clinical Report ◽  
Hand Functions ◽  
Nerve Segment ◽  
Cord Injury

Objective:The objective of this study was to show that hand functions could be recovered using nerve segment insert grafting in quadriplegic patients with chronic incomplete lower cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) (C5/6/7/8).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed in 18 quadriplegic patients (12 male and 6 female patients; mean age, 27 years; age range, 17–55 years) with chronic incomplete lower CSCI who had undergone nerve segment insert grafting from January 2001 to June 2015. Among the 18 patients, the right upper limb was involved in 7, left upper limb in 4, and bilateral upper limbs in 7 patients.Results:The mean follow-up period was 16 months (range, 3 months–3 years), and all patients exhibited obvious relief of limb spasm. Among all patients, 15 patients experienced no obvious spasm attacks and exhibited recovery of living abilities, i.e., recovery of the hand functions of grasping, holding, and pinching, and recovery of pain and temperature sensation in the fingers and palms; furthermore, they were able to steer an ordinary wheelchair independently postoperatively. The remaining three patients exhibited a significant and continuous improvement in hand functions over time, without any significant donor nerve dysfunction.Conclusions:Nerve segment insert grafting is an effective method that helps recover hand functions in quadriplegic patients with chronic incomplete lower CSCI. Moreover, spasticity can be relieved and partial normal innervation can be obtained in the spastic muscles postoperatively.

scholarly journals 2299

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. 61-61
Author(s):  
Kevin O’Brien ◽  
Michele Basso ◽  
James Schmiedeler
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Muscle Control ◽  
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Overground Walking ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Community Ambulation ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Downhill Walking ◽  
Weight Acceptance

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) is a life-long disability that typically results in a profound loss of locomotion capability. Current rehabilitation methods rarely restore full community ambulation, which in turn limits quality of life. Most individuals with iSCI exhibit persistent deficits in eccentric muscle control and reach recovery plateaus below the levels necessary for independent community ambulation. Eccentric motor control is essential during the weight acceptance phase of gait, which is emphasized during downhill walking. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The overground locomotion of subjects with chronic iSCI was analyzed both prior to and following a 12-week downhill body-weight-supported treadmill training regimen and compared to that of matched healthy controls in terms of kinematics, kinetics, and EMG activation. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We expect to find significant differences between the controls and subjects with iSCI, with deficits in eccentric motor control accounting for some of these differences. In addition, we expect the downhill training to yield significant improvement in eccentric muscle control that translates into improvements in functional, overground walking for the subjects with iSCI. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The goal is to determine if downhill training can improve eccentric motor control and extend recovery beyond established plateaus. OpenSim modeling of the experimental data will help quantify changes in eccentric control of individual muscles to clarify where specific gains are made.

Respiration, Phonation and Quality of Life for Patients with Cervical Cord Injury: Incentive Spirometer Group Comparison

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-111
Author(s):  
Tai Youn Kim ◽  
Shin Ae Park ◽  
Yong Seok Lee ◽  
Hyun A Lee ◽  
Dong Wook Son
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Group Comparison ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Cord Injury

scholarly journals Somatosensory corticospinal tract axons sprout within the cervical cord following a dorsal root/dorsal column spinal injury in the rat

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret M. McCann ◽  
Karen M. Fisher ◽  
Jamie Ahloy-Dallaire ◽  
Corinna Darian-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Dorsal Root ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Spinal Injury ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Dorsal Column ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Tracer Injection ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Dorsal Column Lesion

AbstractThe corticospinal tract (CST) is the major descending pathway controlling voluntary hand function in primates, and though less dominant, it mediates voluntary paw movements in rats. As with primates, the CST in rats originates from multiple (albeit fewer) cortical sites, and functionally different motor and somatosensory subcomponents terminate in different regions of the spinal gray matter. We recently reported in monkeys that following a combined cervical dorsal root/dorsal column lesion (DRL/DCL), both motor and S1 CSTs sprout well beyond their normal terminal range. The S1 CST sprouting response is particularly dramatic, indicating an important, if poorly understood, somatosensory role in the recovery process. As rats are used extensively to model spinal cord injury (SCI), we asked if the S1 CST response is conserved in rodents. Rats were divided into sham controls, and two groups surviving post-lesion for ~6 and 10 weeks. A DRL/DCL was made to partially deafferent one paw. Behavioral testing showed a post-lesion deficit and recovery over several weeks. Three weeks prior to ending the experiment, S1 cortex was mapped electrophysiologically, for tracer injection placement to determine S1 CST termination patterns within the cord. Synaptogenesis was also assessed for labeled S1 CST terminals within the dorsal horn. Our findings show that the affected S1 CST sprouts well beyond its normal range in response to a DRL/DCL, much as it does in macaque monkeys. This, along with evidence for increased synaptogenesis post-lesion, indicates that CST terminal sprouting following a central sensory lesion, is a robust and conserved response.

DESIGN, SIMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING SYSTEM FOR SYSTEM CONTROL C4 FEEDING PUMP FOR FEED VAPORIZATION IN THE BUTADIENE PLANT

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Fahmi Yunistyawan ◽  
Yunistyawan J Berchmans ◽  
Gembong Baskoro
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Control System ◽  
Field Operator ◽  
System Control ◽  
Variable Speed ◽  
Variable Speed Drive ◽  
Software And Hardware ◽  
Discharge Pressure ◽  
Selection Of

This study implements the auto start control system on an electric motor 3 phase C4Feeding pump when the discharge pressure is low-low (4.3 kg /cm²). The C4 feeding pumpmotor was initially manually operated from the local control station, this was very ineffectiveand inefficient because it still relied on the field operator to operate the pump motor and whenthe plant was in normal operating it is very risk if the field operator late to operate motor then itwill impact to quality of the product, and if the delay time to operate motor is too long then planthave to shut down, therefore improvement is needed in the C4 feeding pump motor controlsystem. In this paper, various types of 3-phase motor control are explained which allow it to beapplied to the C4 feeding pump motor that are on-off, inverter, and variable speed drive andefficient selection of the three systems control of the motor. Software and hardware used in thisthesis work are DCS CENTUM VP Yokogawa.

Bioethics In Neurospinal Patient Care

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Andi Asadul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Time Frame ◽  
Hippocratic Oath ◽  
Moral Vision ◽  
Human Identity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Harvey Cushing ◽  
Sharp Focus ◽  
Realistic Approach ◽  
Cord Injury

Neurosurgery is among the newest of surgical disciplines, appearing in its modern incarnation at the dawn of twentieth century with the work of Harvey Cushing and contemporaries. Neurosurgical ethics involves challenges of manipulating anatomical locus of human identity and concerns of surgeons and patients who find themselves bound together in that venture.In recent years, neurosurgery ethics has taken on greater relevance as changes in society and technology have brought novel questions into sharp focus. Change of expanded armamentarium of techniques for interfacing with the human brain and spine— demand that we use philosophical reasoning to assess merits of technical innovations.Bioethics can be defined as systematic study of moral challenges in medicine, including moral vision, decisions, conduct, and policies related to medicine. Every surgeon should still take the Hippocratic Oath seriously and consider it a basic guide to follow good medical ethics in medical practice. It is simple and embodies three of the four modern bioethics principles – Respecting autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition often affecting young and healthy individuals around the world. Currently, scientists are pressured on many fronts to develop an all-encompassing “cure” for paralysis. While scientific understanding of central nervous system (CNS) regeneration has advanced greatly in the past years, there are still many unknowns with regard to inducing successful regeneration. A more realistic approach is required if we are interested in improving the quality of life of a large proportion of the paralyzed population in a more expedient time frame.

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