Project Number: AHH - 0901 History and Future of Rehabilitation Robotics An Interactive Qualifying Project Report submitted to the Faculty of WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by ____________________ _________________ ___________________ Christopher Frumento Ethan Messier Victor Montero Submitted: March 2, 2010 __________________________ Prof. Allen H. Hoffman, Advisor Abstract With recent technological advances it has become possible to develop advanced artificial limbs for people with disabilities. This report gives a brief history of the field of Rehabilitation Robotics, and then reviews eight currently produced (either experimentally or commercially) robotic devices designed to assist patients with limb loss or in need of skeletal-muscular assistance. After detailing the use and operation of each device, this report assesses each device on the basis of eight criteria: cost, accessibility, maintainability, training, adaptability, safety, environmental concerns and technological possibility. Each device was given a ranking based on those criteria, and on the basis of those rankings, predictions were made as which technologies are most successful today and most likely to be the basis of future development. This report concludes that the technology contained in the I-Limb is the most likely to be enhanced and further developed. ii | P a g e Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Objectives ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Background ................................................................................................................................................... 3 Definitions..................................................................................................................................................... 9 Gait Rehabilitation .................................................................................................................................... 9 Electromyogram Controls ......................................................................................................................... 9 Phantom Limb Syndrome ....................................................................................................................... 11 Reinnervation and Sensory Feedback ..................................................................................................... 11 Rehabilitation Robotic Systems .................................................................................................................. 14 Lower Extremity Exoskeletons ............................................................................................................... 14 BLEEX ................................................................................................................................................ 14 LOPES (Lower Extremity Powered Exoskeleton) .............................................................................. 19 Bionic Hands ........................................................................................................................................... 20 I-Limb ................................................................................................................................................. 20 Shadow Hand ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Smart Hand ......................................................................................................................................... 25 Bionic Arms ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Luke Arm ............................................................................................................................................ 28 Proto-1 and Proto-2 ............................................................................................................................. 29 Full Body Exoskeleton ............................................................................................................................ 30 Hybrid Assistive Limb ........................................................................................................................ 30 Evaluation ................................................................................................................................................... 33 Criteria .................................................................................................................................................... 33 Cost ..................................................................................................................................................... 34 Accessibility ........................................................................................................................................ 35 Maintainability .................................................................................................................................... 36 Training ............................................................................................................................................... 37 Adaptability ......................................................................................................................................... 38 Safety .................................................................................................................................................. 38 Environmental Concerns ..................................................................................................................... 39 Results ................................................................................................................................................. 40 Analysis ...................................................................................................................................................... 40 Bionic Hands ........................................................................................................................................... 44 Bionic Arms ............................................................................................................................................ 45 Exoskeletons ........................................................................................................................................... 46 Projections................................................................................................................................................... 48 BLEEX and LOPES ................................................................................................................................ 49 Bionic Limbs ........................................................................................................................................... 50 Hal-5 ....................................................................................................................................................... 52 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 54 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................ 56 Reference ................................................................................................................................................ 58 List of Figures Figure 1: Iron Hand Designed by Ambroise Pare ...................................................................................... 4 Figure 2: General Electric's HARDIMAN .................................................................................................... 6 Figure 3: Hal-5 .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 4: BLEEX ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Figure 5: HEPU Layout .............................................................................................................................. 15 Figure 6: BLEEX Hydraulic Actuators ....................................................................................................... 18 Figure 7:LOPES Exoskeleton ..................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 8: I-Limb .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 9: I-Limb Cosmesis ......................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 10: Shadow Hand ............................................................................................................................ 23 Figure 11: Smart Hand ................................................................................................................................ 25 Figure