Title: Design and Development of Effective Transmission Mechanisms on a Tendon Driven Hand Orthosis for Stroke Patients,
Abstract: Tendon-driven hand orthoses have advantages over exoskeletons with respect to
wearability and safety because of their low-profile design and ability to fit a
range of patients without requiring custom joint alignment. However, no
existing study on a wearable tendon-driven hand orthosis for stroke patients
presents evidence that such devices can overcome spasticity given repeated use
and fatigue, or discusses transmission efficiency. In this study, we propose
two designs that provide effective force transmission by increasing moment arms
around finger joints. We evaluate the designs with geometric models and
experiment using a 3D-printed artificial finger to find force and joint angle
characteristics of the suggested structures. We also perform clinical tests
with stroke patients to demonstrate the feasibility of the designs. The testing
supports the hypothesis that the proposed designs efficiently elicit extension
of the digits in patients with spasticity as compared to existing baselines.