[Abstract] Biomechatronics design of a robotic arm for rehabilitation – IEEE Conference Publication

Abstract

Rehabilitation is an important process to restore muscle strength and joint’s range of motion. This paper proposes a biomechatronic design of a robotic arm that is able to mimic the natural movement of the human shoulder, elbow and wrist joint. In a preliminary experiment, a subject was asked to perform four different arm movements using the developed robotic arm for a period of two weeks. The experimental results were recorded and can be plotted into graphical results using Matlab. Based on the results, the robotic arm shows encouraging effect by increasing the performance of rehabilitation process. This is proven when the result in degree value are accurate when being compared with the flexion of both shoulder and elbow joints. This project can give advantages on research if the input parameter needed in the flexion of elbow and wrist.

I. Introduction

According to the United Nations (UN), by 2030 the number of people over 60 years will increase by 56 per cent, from 901 million to more than 1.4 billion worldwide [1]. As the number of older persons is expected to grow, it is imperative that government and private health care providers prepare adequate and modern facilities that can provide quality services for the needs of older persons especially in rehabilitation centers. Implementation of robotic technology in rehabilitation process is a modern method and definitely can contribute in this policy and capable in promoting early recovery and motor learning [2]. Furthermore, systematic application of robotic technology can produce significant clinical results in motor recovery of post-traumatic central nervous system injury by assisting in physical exercise based on voluntary movement in rehabilitation [3].

via Biomechatronics design of a robotic arm for rehabilitation – IEEE Conference Publication