Characterization and control of a robot for wrist rehabilitation

Human motor control pathologies, such as those caused by stroke, can be treated through physical rehabilitation. The use of robots in therapy environments seems appropriate considering the possibilities they offer for quantification of performance as well as "quality control" between therapy sessions. The research presented in this thesis is part of the continuing development of robotic applications for physical therapy and neuro-rehabilitation at the Newman Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation. MIT-MANUS, a robot for shoulder and elbow therapy developed in this lab, introduced this new brand of therapy, offering a highly backdrivable mechanism with a soft and stable feel for the user. The focus here is the development, characterization, and implementation of a robot for wrist rehabilitation, designed to provide three rotational degrees of freedom. The wrist motions of flexion/extension and abduction/adduction are governed by a differential gear mechanism, while pronation and supination of the forearm are actuated by a curved slider attached to the rest of the mechanism. Through the characterization, the device was found to exhibit some unwanted behavior, largely attributable to the nonlinearities inherent in the system. Efforts to suppress these effects through control are presented along with recommendations for addressing these problems at the design level.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Celestino, James R. (James Richard)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Neville Hogan.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34132

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34132