Wearable upper limb rehabilitation device

Wearable Upper Limb Rehabilitation Device Combining a Wire-Driven Glove and Anchor Member

This technology is a wearable upper limb rehabilitation device that implements rotational movement of a glove through wire winding and unwinding, and secures a comfortable fit by tightening and loosening the arm support using a wire-driven mechanism.

Conventional upper limb rehabilitation devices are bulky and heavy due to their frame and stand configurations, and are limited to use in fixed locations, which reduces accessibility for patient rehabilitation training.

This technology proposes a method where a fixing member is placed on a glove worn on the user's hand, support is adjusted via a tightening motor and wire within an anchor member that wraps around the forearm, and a length-adjustment motor controls a rotation wire to induce vertical rotational movement of the wrist joint. This enables a lightweight, wearable structure that allows for rehabilitation training anywhere. It can be used for upper limb rehabilitation in stroke patients and for home-based self-training, significantly improving rehabilitation accessibility and the patient's quality of life by removing location constraints through its lightweight, wearable design.

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Key Features:

• A glove worn on the user's hand, featuring a fixing member provided on the upper side that covers the back of the hand.
• An anchor member comprising a lower support that wraps around the outer circumference of the forearm, a plurality of locking parts, a tightening wire, and a tightening motor.
• A rotation wire with one end attached to the fixing member on the glove and the other end extending past the lower support of the anchor member.
• A length-adjustment motor that moves the glove vertically by winding or unwinding the rotation wire to adjust its length.

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This invention was developed with support from the Human-Centered Soft Robotics Research Center of the Ministry of Science and ICT.