Design and evaluation of a low-cost mechatronic system to study upper and lower limbs biomechanics

The socioeconomic impact of limb disabilities produced by injuries, traumas or congenital defects is evident in low-income countries, where there are often inadequate systems of trauma care and rehabilitation. The most medical schools in developing countries do not include a disability and rehabilitation component in their curricula. Even worst, many institutes do not have facilities or equipment to develop professional skills in their students. Designing and fabricating medical rehabilitation equipment, and training professional rehabilitation staff could be considered a pragmatic solution for most of the low-income countries to improve their physical rehabilitation services. Assisted rehabilitation technologies improve the functional capacity of persons with limb disabilities using prostheses, orthoses, in combination with computer software and hardware. In this work, a low-cost mechatronics system is presented as a proof-of-concept which can be used by students and professionals in physical therapy training, and by engineers to design and fabricate orthopedic and orthotic devices focusing in upper and lower limbs. The basic concepts of biomechanics are presented and evaluated using theoretical approach (finite element method) and experimental approach (construction of prototype). The proposed system emerges as a practical tool in the education and training in rehabilitation systems for upper and lower limbs. The holistic collaboration among rehabilitation professionals, engineers, and scientists in developing countries is essential to implement appropriate and sustainable rehabilitative services and devices.