Exomuscle: An inflatable device for shoulder abduction support

摘要: Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability. Many robots have been developed to administer movement therapies or provide physical assistance stroke survivors suffering from deficits. One effective approach has support weight arm, offloading shoulder abductor muscles that become coupled elbow muscles. However, patients limited access such due robots' complexity, cost, and bulk. To counter this problem, we a lightweight (350 g), inexpensive external actuator, which call an exomuscle. We constructed prototype exomuscle by reinforcing plastic bladder with fabric bag sewn supporting straps. The can then be inflated pressurized air expansive forces between user's torso abduction. A seam acting as hinge joint connects torso. demonstrate our reduces muscular effort 74% in isometric tasks 72% dynamic reaching while minimally affecting range motion (average 4% reduction) on three users ranging 165 188 cm tall. Future studies will evaluate who post-stroke motor impairments.