An Arm-Assistive Medical Device using Soft Robotics Technology

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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
Date
2015
Department
Major/Subject
Embedded Systems
Mcode
SCI3024
Degree programme
Master's Programme in ICT Innovation
Language
en
Pages
58+2
Series
Abstract
With the emergence of world population aging, the health issues of elderly people attract increasing people’s attention. As many elderly people are suffering from the limitation of shoulder and arm functions, it is necessary to develop medical devices which provide strength supports for the elder people. With this motivation, we intended to develop a wearable soft robotics solution which provides extra strength to arm function of the elderly users. This thesis gives an academic view of the development project and tries to gain insights on user intention detection, sensing and control technology, including sensor selection, signal filtering and data fusion etc. This thesis work focuses on the development process of detecting the intention of user’s movement and providing the supporting force according to user’s requirements, and using the control technology to control the force. Instead of using rigid materials, we applied soft materials and organic structures, which makes the device lightweight, cost-effective and comfortable. We used commercial off-the-shelf components to develop the system which reduced the development time and increased the stability and flexibility of the system. The prototype of this product was sent to a research center for safety and user evaluation. The evaluation shows that the device can help the user lifting his/her arm as well as do some basic operations, such as eating or drinking. Most of the testers were satisfied with the functionality of the prototype and showed great interest in the product.
Description
Supervisor
Saikkonen , Heikki
Thesis advisor
Hirvisalo, Vesa
Wahlstedt, Martin
Keywords
arm-assistive medical device, soft robotics, wearable technology, sensing technology
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Citation