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Functional and usability assessment of a robotic exoskeleton arm to support activities of daily life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2014

Emilia Ambrosini ,
Simona Ferrante ,
Mauro Rossini ,
Franco Molteni ,
Margit Gföhler ,
Werner Reichenfelser ,
Alexander Duschau-Wicke ,
Giancarlo Ferrigno  and
Alessandra Pedrocchi
Emilia Ambrosini*
Affiliation:
NeuroEngineering and Medical Robotics Laboratory, NearLab, Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Simona Ferrante
Affiliation:
NeuroEngineering and Medical Robotics Laboratory, NearLab, Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Mauro Rossini
Affiliation:
Valduce Hospital, Villa Beretta, Rehabilitation Centre, Costa Masnaga, Lecco, Italy
Franco Molteni
Affiliation:
Valduce Hospital, Villa Beretta, Rehabilitation Centre, Costa Masnaga, Lecco, Italy
Margit Gföhler
Affiliation:
Research Group for Machine Design and Rehabilitation Engineering (E 307-3), Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria
Werner Reichenfelser
Affiliation:
Research Group for Machine Design and Rehabilitation Engineering (E 307-3), Technische Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria
Alexander Duschau-Wicke
Affiliation:
Hocoma AG, Volketswil, Switzerland
Giancarlo Ferrigno
Affiliation:
NeuroEngineering and Medical Robotics Laboratory, NearLab, Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Alessandra Pedrocchi
Affiliation:
NeuroEngineering and Medical Robotics Laboratory, NearLab, Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: emilia.ambrosini@polimi.it
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Summary

An assistive device for upper limb support was developed and evaluated in terms of usability, user satisfaction and motor performance on six end-users affected by neuro-motor disorders (three spinal cord injury; one multiple sclerosis; two Friedreich's ataxia). The system consisted of a lightweight 3-degrees-of-freedom robotic exoskeleton arm for weight relief, equipped with electromagnetic brakes. Users could autonomously control the brakes using a USB-button or residual electromyogram activations. The system functionally supported all of the potential users in performing reaching and drinking tasks. For three of them, time, smoothness, straightness and repeatability were also comparable to healthy subjects. An overall high level of usability (system usability score, median value of 90/100) and user satisfaction (Tele-healthcare Satisfaction Questionnaire - Wearable Technology, median value of 104/120) were obtained for all subjects.

Keywords

Assistive deviceExoskeletonNeuro-motor disordersUpper limbDaily life activities
Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 32 , Issue 8: Rehabilitation Robotics and Human-Robot Interaction , December 2014 , pp. 1213 - 1224
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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