Development of a Wearable Finger Exoskeleton for Rehabilitation

This research work shows a new architecture of a novel wearable finger exoskeleton for rehabilitation; the proposed design consists of a one degree of freedom mechanism that generates the flexion and extension movement for the proximal, medial and distal phalange of the fingers to assist patients during the rehabilitation process, after neurological trauma, such as a stroke. The anatomy and anthropometric measures for the hand were used to define the design of the mechanism. In the analytic part, the representative equations for the forward and inverse kinematic analysis of the fingers are obtained, also a dynamic analysis is presented. The position and displacement continued for the structural analysis, were developed by following a static analysis, to know the deformation that the structure links show when an external load is applied in the mechanism. As result, a prototype was manufactured with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) using an additive manufacturing machine.

Il neonato con gli occhi socchiusi. La displasia ectodermica legata al gene TP63

An Italian female newborn presented with cleft palate, erythroderma, desquamations, skin erosions, ankyloblepharon filiforme adnatum, broad nasal root, short philtrum, thin vermillion border, maxillary hypoplasia, microstomia, microglossia, cupped ears, hypoplasia of the distal phalange of left index, widely spaced nipples and polythelia. The hallmarks of ankyloblepharon-ectodermal dysplasia-clefting syndrome (or Hay-Wells syndrome) as well as persistent scalp erosions led to exclude more frequent skin disorders like congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma or epidermolysis bullosa and to diagnose Hay-Wells syndrome by genetic analysis. Target sequencing of the tumour protein p63 (TP63) gene revealed a novel heterozygous missense mutation I576T in exon 13 (c. 1727T>C) in the sterile alpha motive domain. The paper reports the clinical features, differential diagnoses and prognosis in TP63-related ectodermal dysplasia.

Self-adaptive grasp analysis of a novel under-actuated cable-truss robotic finger

This paper presents the self-adaptive grasp of a novel cable-driven finger, which is an underactuated finger comprising cable-truss units. The underactuated cable-truss finger uses tendon-pulley transmission and parallel four-linkage mechanism to realize grasps. The working principle of the underactuated cable-truss finger and the self-adaptation at the grasp-closing stage are introduced. A self-adaptive grasping model is constructed to analyze the self-adaptation, and a new analysis method that considers the position and posture of grasping point in distal phalange is proposed. A new generalized coordinate, which directly shows the contacting position and the relative angular displacement in the distal phalange, is established. The expression of general static grasping force is established by using the virtual work principle, which reveals the relationship among the driving force, the equivalent torques on joints and the grasping forces. The workspace of the underactuated cable-truss finger and distributions of grasping force in new generalized coordinate are assessed through numerical analysis. The balance conditions of the self-adaptive grasp and the corresponding statuses are theoretically illustrated. Valid and adequate self-adaptive grasping experiments are conducted to verify the accuracy of self-adaptive grasping analysis.

In VivoAnalysis of Trapeziometacarpal Joint Kinematics during Pinch Tasks

This study investigated how the posture of the thumb while performing common pinch movements and the levels of pinch force applied by the thumb affect the arthrokinematics of the trapeziometacarpal jointin vivo. Fifteen subjects performed the pinch tasks at the distal phalange (DP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint, and metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint of the index finger with 0%, 50%, and 80% of maximal pinch forces by a single-axis load cell. 3D images of the thumb were obtained using the computed tomography. The results show that the reference points moved from the central region to the dorsal-radial region when changing from pinching the DP to the MP joint without pinching force being applied. Pinching with 80% of the maximum pinching force resulted in reference points being the closest to the volar-ulnar direction. Significant differences were seen between 0% and 50% of maximum pinch force, as well as between 0% and 80%, when pinching the MP joint in the distal-proximal direction. The effects of posture of the thumb and applied pinch force on the arthrokinematics of the joint were investigated with a 3D model of the trapeziometacarpal joint. Pinching with more than 50% of maximum pinch force might subject this joint to extreme displacement.