Patient-Specific, Voice-Controlled, Robotic FLEXotendon Glove-II System for Spinal Cord Injury

Reduced hand function in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients is commonly associated with a lower quality of life and limits the autonomy of the patient because he/she cannot perform most tasks independently. Robotic rehabilitation exoskeletons have been introduced as a method for assisting in hand function restoration. In this article, we propose a voice-controlled, tendon-actuated soft exoskeleton for improving hand function rehabilitation. The exoskeleton is constructed from soft materials to conform to the user's hand for improved fit and flexibility. A partially biomimetic tendon routing strategy independently actuates the index finger, middle finger, and thumb for a total of 4 degrees-of-freedom of the overall system. Nitinol wires are used for passive finger extension and screw-guided twisted tendon actuators are used for active finger flexion to create a compact, lightweight actuation mechanism. A continuous voice control strategy is implemented to provide a hands-free control interface and a simplified user interface experience while retaining distinct user intention. The exoskeleton was evaluated in a case study with a spinal cord injury patient. The patient used the exoskeleton and completed range-of-motion measurement as well as hand function tests, including the Box and Block Test and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test.