A soft, synergy-based robotic glove for grasping assistance

This research introduces a soft, robotic glove designed to help people with spinal cord injuries improve their ability to grasp objects. The glove uses a special design that mimics the natural movements of the hand, making it easier to hold and manipulate items for daily tasks. The glove is made of soft materials to ensure it is comfortable and easy to wear. It works by assisting the fingers to bend and close, which is crucial for grasping. The design focuses on supporting the most important fingers—thumb, index, and middle finger—to simplify the mechanics. A preliminary test showed that a person with a spinal cord injury was able to improve their performance in a standard hand function test by 50% when using the glove. This suggests the glove can significantly aid people with limited hand function in performing everyday activities.

• 1
  The synergy-based actuation strategy results in only slight alterations to the distribution of forces across the fingers, compared to a natural, unassisted grasping pattern.
• 2
  A preliminary case study showed a 50% performance improvement in a standard Box and Block test for a participant with an incomplete spinal cord injury (C7) when using the glove.
• 3
  Assistance in grasping results in an overall reduction of 22.8% of the activity of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), with a decreasing benefit for forces above 15 N, where the device’s torque production capabilities saturate.