A human computer interface drived rehabilitation system for upper limb motion recovery

Rehabilitation for recovering the nerve motor system of patients with neuromuscular damage, such as those due to spinal cord injury and spasm, has been based on extremely labour intensive physiotherapy procedures. A potential solution for helping patients to expedite their recovery from neurological disorders and improve their ability in performing activities of daily living would be by using mechatronic-assistive devices that can be controlled by the patients themselves. The inclusion of modern input devices such as Head Mouse or brain-computer interface technology with neurological stimulation to help neural modulation has been advocated by others in the related research community. This paper introduces a power-assisted exoskeleton prototype system for producing elbow flexion-extension motion by using a Head Mouse as an input of control commands by the patient. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness (Position, Velocity, Acceleration, and Torque) of the exoskeleton. Results demonstrate that the device would be a useful rehabilitation tool for patients with neuromuscular disorder.