Kinematic design of a novel finger exoskeleton mechanism for rehabilitation exercises

Abstract

The paper presents the kinematic design of a novel low-cost two degree-of-freedom finger exoskeleton mechanism to be used for rehabilitation exercises for post-stroke or injured patients. The first degree-of freedom is for the flexion/extension of metacarpophalangeal joint and is achieved via a planar 4-bar loop. The second degree-of-freedom is for the simultaneous flexion/extension of distal/proximal interphalangeal joints and is achieved via an over-constrained double-spherical 6-bar linkage, where 3 of the links are the phalanges of the finger and 2 of the joints are finger joints themselves. So, the number of extra links are less compared to other designs in the literature. The motion of an index finger is recorded via image processing. The four-bar mechanism part is designed for optimum transmission angle characteristics. The formulation and application of the kinematic synthesis of the 6-bar linkage is presented. The design is verified via a prototype.