Design of wearable orthopedic devices for treating forward head postures using pneumatic artificial muscles and flex sensors

Forward head posture is one of the most common symptoms that modern people experience as sedentary life with prolonged use of computers or smart devices becomes more common. In this research, we propose a rehabilitation device that actively corrects the neck posture for treating forward head posture. The device is composed of a flex sensor and a pneumatic artificial muscle and a flex sensor that help monitoring and correcting the neck angles, respectively. Although PAMs have been traditionally used for the linear contraction force, we take advantage of the radial expansion to apply mechanical pressures to the neck in our device. Also, by combining the two elements in one system, it is possible to construct a feedback control loop for treating forward head posture. The proposed system was experimentally characterized, and the performance was compared with existing devices.