Development and Evaluation of a Haptic-Based Upper-Limb Orthosis for Rehabilitation

Traditional resistance band and weight training exercises are widely used for rehabilitation. In the recent years, exergames have been suggested as alternative approaches for physical activity intervention, and were found to be potential tool for rehabilitation. This paper presents the development and evaluation of an affordable and programmable upper-limb orthosis subsystem for rehabilitation training. It is haptic-based, and makes use of wearable electromagnetic brakes to provide passive resistance force. The system will be used to investigate the relationship between body movements, energy expenditure, and muscle activities during exercises, particularly exergame interventions.