Admittance control of the intelligent assist robot manipulator for people with duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a neuromuscular disease with a prevalence of 1 in 3500 male births, results in characteristic muscle weakness which is progressive with age and leads to loss of independence. And, in this population, maintaining optimal quality of life depends on the preservation of self-sufficiency. Despite the loss of function, non-ambulant people with DMD retain some muscle strength, just not sufficient strength to overcome the force of gravity. There are a number of upper-limb passive and active orthotic devices that attempt to augment the loss of upper limb function in people with DMD by taking advantage of this residual muscle strength by providing anti-gravity assistance. The majority of these devices, as well as currently available robotic manipulators, are considerably limited in the functionality that they provide, rendering them obtrusive and unaccommodating, resulting in lack of use by this population. This thesis presents the design of a novel upper limb assistive robotic device. This design involves the use of admittance control as the interface for the intelligent Assist Robot Manipulator (iARM). A thorough qualitative and quantitative analysis of the prototype is performed, the results of which are presented. The quantitative analysis focuses on the ideal delay that is required of human-machine interfaces to ensure comfort and passivity. Additionally, potential contributors to the delay of the iARM are investigated.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering - (M.S.)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biomedical Engineering

Year

2013

Author dc:creator

• Corrigan, Madeline

Contributors dc:contributor

• Richard A. Foulds
• Sergei Adamovich
• Max Roman

• Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Upper limb assistive robotic device
• Intelligent assist robot manipulator
• Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/theses/177

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.njit.edu:theses-1176