When a person is paralyzed by a stroke or brain injury, most of their rehabilitation work involves physically guiding the affected limbs so that their brain can relearn these movements. A new exoskeleton is made for hand rehabilitation, which patients can use in their own homes.
The device, known as emovo grasp, is manufactured by Swiss start-up emovo care, which is reported to belong to EPFL Research Institute.
It contains two motor-driven cables, each wrapped in a separate sheath. These cables run along the back of the affected hand as artificial tendons. In addition, they are connected to the index and middle fingers through silicone rings.
When users want to practice grasping an object, they press a button on the hand-held remote control to activate the motor and push the cable forward. This causes the user's fingers to close around the object. Since their palms and finger pads are not obstructed, they can feel the object and the amount of pressure they apply to the object. This pressure can be adjusted by the remote control.
Once the person determines that they have grasped the object well, they stop the motor and keep the artificial tendon and their fingers in place. Then, they can practice lifting objects and putting them back in place. To release the object, they need to press the second button on the remote control to reverse the motor so that the tendons gently pull their fingers out.
Emovo gripper is currently the subject of a clinical trial involving about 30 patients with brain injury from France, Italy and Austria. One of the subjects has reported that after seven years of total immobility, he was able to move his index finger two millimeters a day after his first use of the device.
At present, emovo is planning more clinical studies and hopes to be put into commercial use sometime next year.