In England and Wales over 130,000 people have strokes every year, stroke causes a greater range of disabilities than any other condition and this means stroke has a greater disability impact than any other chronic diseases. There are more than 900,000 people suffering from the after effects of a stroke living in the England with approximately half of these people dependent on others for everyday life. With a globally ageing population and hence more people suffering from the effects of stroke it is therefore becoming increasingly important to rehabilitate them to a position where they can gain more independence. A critical part of regaining independence is the use of the hand for tasks such as pinching or grasping an object in order to manipulate it within everyday life.

This project is focusing on developing an assistive robotic device to aid the rehabilitation process of the hand and wrist by providing additional force to the hand via an exoskeleton. It has been shown that using the robots to help complete the motions of grasping and pinching has a positive effect on the speed and effectiveness of recovery in terms or time in therapy and range of motion achieved.

It is also proposed that with a robotic device therapy is not just limited to a clinical setting and that rehabilitation may also take place in the home with information such as patient progress and time in therapy being made available to a physiotherapist over the internet.

Current work to date has included the design and development of a prototype device for rehabilitation shown in the picture, an initial control strategy for the device and a study into the motion of the hand during the grasp release cycle.