SBIR Phase I: Wearable Grippers for Hemiplegic Patients

SBIR 第一阶段：偏瘫患者的可穿戴抓手

• 批准号: 1548953
• 负责人: Haruhiko Asada
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Boston Incubation Center LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2016-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1548953&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Wearable; Grippers; Hemiplegic

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be significant. Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term severe disability. In US alone almost 800,000 people suffer from stroke each year, with 55% to 75% surviving stroke patients have chronic limb impairment that hinders quality of life with significant disability. This wearable gripper will enable these patents to perform basic daily tasks such as holding a walker stably for functional mobility, opening the cap of a jar, putting on clothes, or pouring water into a glass. By regaining control of basic daily activities, not only the quality of life can improve, but the sense of independence can also help rebuild patients? confidence. In certain cases, this could even accelerate functional recovery. The wearable gripper will be designed with look and feel of popular consumer electronics that can easily gain acceptance of patients that can benefit from it. Its price point will also be in the range comparable to consumer electronics. With innovative electromechanical design and intelligent algorithm, this wearable gripper can learn the wearer?s specific need, a truly adaptive helping hand. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed to develop a compact robotic gripper that can be worn on a person?s arm to assist the wearer in performing daily routine chores. The first target user group of this wearable robotic gripper will be hemiplegic patients who lost control of half side of the body. This lightweight robotic gripper can be worn on the affected arm of a hemiplegic patient and work with the functional arm in a coordinated manner to perform a variety of daily chores. An instrumented wristband with haptic feedback can be worn on the functional arm that senses movement of the arm as well as muscle tension; sensor signals are transmitted to the robotic gripper that can interpret wristband signals and maneuver accordingly. The haptic feedback in the wristband allows the wearer to sense gripper movement and make adjustment if needed. This product must be lightweight and easy to wear with minimal discomfort. Compact sensors, actuators and soft plastics commonly used in wearable consumer devices will be explored. A prototype will be built and preliminary test data will be analyzed to identify key design requirements and engineering specifications for this groundbreaking product.

该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将是巨大的。中风是长期严重残疾的主要原因之一。仅在美国，每年就有近 800,000 人患有中风，其中 55% 至 75% 的幸存中风患者患有慢性肢体损伤，严重影响生活质量并出现残疾。这种可穿戴抓手将使这些专利能够执行基本的日常任务，例如稳定地握住助行器以实现功能性移动、打开罐子的盖子、穿衣服或将水倒入玻璃杯中。通过重新控制基本的日常活动，不仅可以提高生活质量，而且独立感也可以帮助患者重建？信心。在某些情况下，这甚至可以加速功能恢复。可穿戴式夹持器的设计具有流行消费电子产品的外观和感觉，可以轻松获得患者的接受并从中受益。其价格点也将在与消费电子产品相当的范围内。凭借创新的机电设计和智能算法，这款可穿戴式抓手可以了解佩戴者的具体需求，成为真正的自适应帮助手。这个小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目旨在开发一种紧凑的机器人抓手，可以佩戴在人的手臂上，帮助佩戴者执行日常琐事。这种可穿戴机器人夹具的第一个目标用户群将是失去对身体半侧控制的偏瘫患者。这种轻型机器人抓手可以佩戴在偏瘫患者的患侧手臂上，并与功能性手臂协调工作，以执行各种日常杂务。具有触觉反馈功能的仪器腕带可以佩戴在功能性手臂上，感知手臂的运动以及肌肉张力；传感器信号被传输到机器人抓手，机器人抓手可以解释腕带信号并进行相应的操作。腕带中的触觉反馈使佩戴者能够感知夹具的运动并在需要时进行调整。 该产品必须重量轻、易于佩戴且不适感最小。将探讨可穿戴消费设备中常用的紧凑型传感器、执行器和软塑料。将建造原型并分析初步测试数据，以确定这一突破性产品的关键设计要求和工程规范。