To assist those with fine motor difficulties and promote rehabilitation, the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa (National University of San Agustin in Arequipa) in Peru has teamed up with Clínica San Juan de Dios Arequipa (San Juan de Dios Clinic in Arequipa) to create a Soft Robotic Glove.
The glove is meant to help rehabilitate those with fine motor difficulties and act as support for task-specific help. The age range falls between 5 and 12 years old, focused on aiding children with gross and fine motor skill issues. The device is specifically for children that suffer from Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), cerebral palsy, stroke, and others. The children must be in the initial or middle stage of the disease that is resulting in these difficulties.
This glove will be able to monitor and store palm inclination information caused by wrist movements, the force applied on the fingertips and palm, and when the fingers are separated. This allows for accurate modeling of the user’s hand to record rehabilitation and treatment. The device will focus on four focus points: points: grip types, pressure points, measurement of wrist and finger angles, and measurement of joint ranges.
For use with the glove, a Graphic Interface will provide both synchronous and asynchronous results for treatment.
This project will be sustained through renovations to the user interface to keep up with ever-changing technology.
This project was made possible with a grant of $5,350 as part of EPICS in IEEE’s Access and Abilities Competition.