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Design and coupled dynamics control of an index finger exoskeleton with two independent degrees of freedom for rehabilitation therapy

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In rehabilitation medicine, targeted therapeutic strategies for hand dysfunction have been shown to effectively promote the recovery of finger motor function. However, few wearable hand exoskeletons are capable of independently assisting both adduction/abduction (a/a) and flexion/extension (f/e) movements of individual fingers. In addition, limited attention has been given to the influence of posture-dependent dynamic coupling between f/e and a/a motions. Therefore, this paper presents an index finger exoskeleton for rehabilitation therapy (IFERT) with two independent degrees of freedom, driven by shape memory alloy actuators. The proposed system explicitly considers the influence of index finger f/e posture on the dynamics of a/a motion. First, the IFERT is designed to assist patients in performing independent f/e and a/a rehabilitation movements. Then, the kinematic and dynamic models of the system are established. To improve the dynamic response of the system, a dynamic feedforward control strategy is proposed by incorporating the f/e dynamic model into the a/a control loop. Finally, a series of experiments are conducted to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed feedforward strategy reduces the required system input pressure by at least 45%, increases the output voltage by at least 19%, and nearly doubles the peak velocity during assisted movements. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed exoskeleton and the coupled dynamic control strategy for rehabilitation applications.
DOI: 10.1088/1361-665x/ae7b97
Language: English
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7164141012
FWCI:
Cites: 35
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Related to: 10