Diseño y construcción de una órtesis para rehabilitación de los dedos trifalángicos de la mano.

Abstract

The hand may be affected by traumatic pathologies and/or injuries to the peripheral nervous system. Rehabilitation assisted by mechatronic devices can restore the functionality of an injured limb or prevent the degeneration of the hand motor apparatus. The present study describes the proposal of redesign and optimization of an exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation, based on a modular and ergonomic configuration. Design parameters are defined from engineering criteria and hand-movement kinematic guidelines for passive joint rehabilitation. The conceptual design and product specifications are determined as part of a community-engagement project, in cooperation with professionals in physiotherapy and physical rehabilitation areas. The redesign is carried out from a first built prototype capable of transmitting flexion and extension movements to the three phalanges of the hand fingers, not including the thumb, in a joint range between 0 and 60 degrees. The construction of the first prototype enabled us to identify design and optimization requirements described in this paper. Considering requirements such as extending the range of flexion-extension, improving the adaptability to different anthropometric measurements of the hand and including an interchangeable modular system for the right and left hand give a greater functionality to the proposed device. Thus, the system can better assist the recovery process in different physical rehabilitation applications.