Screening test robot for functional decline of shoulder joint

In this paper, we propose a screening test robot for prevention and early detection of functional decline of the shoulder joint. For this purpose, we used a three-dimensional reaction force display robot (3D robot) that executed a method for quantitatively evaluating shoulder joint functions. We focused on two shoulder joint functions: one is flexibility/stability, and the other is cooperativeness. In the screening test for functional decline of flexibility/stability, the 3D robot measured the maximum isometric force exerted on the brace of the 3D robot by a subject. In the screening test for functional decline in cooperativeness, the 3D robot measured the maximum isokinetic force exerted on the brace by the subject and the rotational angle of the upper limb during the testing motion. We propose procedures for implementing the two kinds of screening tests using the 3D robot, and we developed a control method. We verified the effectiveness of the proposed screening robot in executing these procedures, the control method, and the quantitative evaluation method.