A Smart-Glove Approach in Upper-limb Rehabilitation Assessment

Patients who have experienced a stroke frequently exhibit impairments in the upper limb, necessitating ongoing monitoring and kinematic assessments to gauge motor recovery. Traditional physiotherapy involves patients visiting clinicians for initial upper limb evaluations, assessing passive and active range of motion. However, relying solely on hospital-based rehabilitation encounters challenges in delivering prolonged therapeutic interventions. Thus, there is a need to augment traditional methods with modern advancements, providing clinicians with advanced tools for assessing manual dexterity. This paper presents a custom-made smart glove and visualization software to accurately represent real-time hand finger movements in a virtual 3D space, enhancing clinicians’ ability to assess and intervene in the hand functionality of stroke patients. Following an in-depth examination of our implementation, we present key insights derived from the system’s usage and discuss inherent limitations. Finally, we outline our future goals and directions for advancing the proposed implementations in the domain of upper-limb rehabilitation.