Article

The world's population is aging rapidly, particularly in developed countries. The
trend toward prolonged life expectancy will increase the elderly population and
thereby lead to an increase in occurrences of age-related health problems such as
chronic disease. Healthcare services and home-based rehabilitation are in high
demand, and the demand for professional physical therapy is imposing an
increasing burden on the healthcare system. Rehabilitation training devices must
keep pace with standards of care, be cost effective, and meet the home-based
training requirements of today's rehabilitation trends. This article presents an
experimental study of a novel spring-loaded upper-limb exoskeleton meant to
enable a patient or nondisabled individual to move a limb at multiple joints in
different planes for resistance training in a free and unconstrained environment.
To assess the functionality of the design, we have measured its kinematic data
while performing designated movements and adopted a motion-capture system to
verify the function of our mechanism. The collected data and analysis of the
kinematic and dynamic joint torques may not only verify our mechanism but also
provide a profound understanding of the design requirements for an appropriate
spring-loaded exoskeleton for upper-limb resistance training.

Langue : ANGLAIS