Low Cost Mechatronic Device for Hand Grip Function Rehabilitation

There are multiple factors that can cause limited or impaired hand movement such as cardiovascular accidents, repetitive motion injuries at work or old age. Various studies have shown that robot-assisted rehabilitation or therapy devices have a positive impact on the recovery of motor skills in the hands. However, access to this type of technology can be expensive and Costa Rica hospitals do not encourage its research. In this paper, a low-cost device is developed for the rehabilitation of the grip function with the hand. Elastic bands for exercise are used to create different levels of resistance to do a gripping movement. The device uses easily accessible and low-cost parts. In addition, it incorporates a microcontroller that allows recording the data of the movement and force made by the patient, for later analysis by a health professional. A user interface for exercise monitoring and a functional prototype is developed.