Paediatric ankle rehabilitation system based on twisted and coiled polymer actuators

IF 3.7 3区材料科学 Q1 INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATION

Smart Materials and Structures Pub Date : 2024-06-06 DOI:10.1088/1361-665x/ad50b0

Alberto Gonzalez-Vazquez, Lorenzo Garcia, Jeff Kilby

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Rehabilitation is crucial for children with physical disabilities arising from various conditions. Traditional exoskeletons, reliant on electric motors and rigid components, making them cumbersome, heavy, and unsuitable for use outside clinical facilities. To overcome these, researchers are turning to soft wearable rehabilitation robots (SWRRs) with artificial muscles based on smart materials like twisted and coiled polymer actuators (TCPs). TCPs offer enhanced compliance, adaptability, comfort, safety, and reduced weight—critical for paediatric use. Despite facing challenges like low operating frequencies and high temperatures, TCPs are explored as potential artificial muscles for SWRRs, due to their advantages on the force they can generate, the strain and a linear behaviour. This study details a proof of concept for a paediatric rehabilitation system for ankles based on TCPs, including the actuator characterization, mechanical design, control strategy, and human-computer-interface (HCI). The resulting device achieved a 1.4 Nm torque, a 10° range of motion in dorsiflexion within 5 s, and integrated electromyographic HCI. This research marks a promising step towards innovative, soft wearable rehabilitation solutions for children with physical disabilities.

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基于扭曲和盘绕聚合物致动器的小儿踝关节康复系统

对于因各种原因导致身体残疾的儿童来说，康复训练至关重要。传统的外骨骼依赖于电机和刚性部件，笨重且不适合在临床设施外使用。为了克服这些问题，研究人员正在转向软性可穿戴康复机器人 (SWRR)，这种机器人带有基于智能材料（如扭曲和盘绕聚合物致动器 (TCP)）的人工肌肉。TCP 具有更强的顺应性、适应性、舒适性、安全性和更轻的重量，这对儿科应用至关重要。尽管面临着低工作频率和高温等挑战，但由于扭转和卷曲聚合物致动器在产生力、应变和线性行为方面的优势，它们仍被视为 SWRRs 的潜在人工肌肉。本研究详细介绍了基于 TCPs 的儿科脚踝康复系统的概念验证，包括致动器表征、机械设计、控制策略和人机交互界面（HCI）。最终的设备达到了 1.4 牛米的扭矩，在 5 秒内实现了 10° 的背屈运动范围，并集成了肌电图人机交互界面。这项研究标志着为肢体残疾儿童提供创新的软性可穿戴康复解决方案迈出了可喜的一步。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Smart Materials and Structures 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

12.20%

发文量

317

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Smart Materials and Structures (SMS) is a multi-disciplinary engineering journal that explores the creation and utilization of novel forms of transduction. It is a leading journal in the area of smart materials and structures, publishing the most important results from different regions of the world, largely from Asia, Europe and North America. The results may be as disparate as the development of new materials and active composite systems, derived using theoretical predictions to complex structural systems, which generate new capabilities by incorporating enabling new smart material transducers. The theoretical predictions are usually accompanied with experimental verification, characterizing the performance of new structures and devices. These systems are examined from the nanoscale to the macroscopic. SMS has a Board of Associate Editors who are specialists in a multitude of areas, ensuring that reviews are fast, fair and performed by experts in all sub-disciplines of smart materials, systems and structures. A smart material is defined as any material that is capable of being controlled such that its response and properties change under a stimulus. A smart structure or system is capable of reacting to stimuli or the environment in a prescribed manner. SMS is committed to understanding, expanding and dissemination of knowledge in this subject matter.