Development of Upper Limb Rehabilitation Robot Device for Home Setting

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in the world. The stroke patients need professional support for the rehabilitation activity. However, the number of therapist is considered inadequate to support an increasing numbers of stroke patients especially in the rural areas. Therefore, robot based device for rehabilitation is considered one of the solutions for the increasing numbers of stroke patients and to support the therapist. This research presents the development of upper limb rehabilitation device robot. The device is considered portable for home setting and allowed movement on vertical elbow flexion and shoulder/elbow horizontal flexion and extension. The device consists of scissors lift and armrest mechanism that allowed the patients to perform upper limb rehabilitation at X-X, X-Z, Y-Y and Y-Z axis direction. Two linear actuators, motor drivers and Arduino UNO board were used to drive the device. (c) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.