Muscle Temperature Sensing and Control with a Wearable Device for Hand Rehabilitation of People After Stroke

Muscle spasm affects the hand rehabilitation of the person after stroke. This paper presents the muscle temperature sensing and control with a wearable device. The device mainly consists of three layers, i.e. a Graphite heat dissipation film, a Peltier array, tailor-made radiation fins, from bottom to top. Multiple temperature sensors PT1000 installed between the film and the Peltier pieces are employed for distributed detecting the surface temperature of the muscle which drives the motion of fingers. The Peltier array is used to control the temperature of the muscle with a PID controller for regulating the voltage supplied for the Peltier array. The direction of the current through the Peltier array can be adjusted for cold and heat stimulation of the muscle. By precisely controlling the temperature of the muscle, this device could alleviate the muscle spasm and reduce the edema of hand for better rehabilitation treatment after stroke. The device can also be used for investigating other symptoms alleviation needing cold stimulation or thermotherapy.