The Catholic University of America
The experiment will be conducted with 15 chronic stroke survivors and 15 control subjects. Subjects will perform extension movements of the index finger of their more-impaired (stroke) or nondominant (control) hand under two different assistance types: end-effector assistance and exotendon assistance. For each assistance type, unassisted movements will be performed before and after the assistance. Subjects will be randomly assigned into two groups (A and B), who will receive the assistance in a different order. The finger movements and muscle activation patterns will be recorded during movements.
1. Pre-experimental session: First, reflective markers will be placed on the dorsum of the hand, i.e., metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and distal/proximal interphalangeal (DIP/PIP) joints of the index finger, index fingertip, MCP of the little finger, and carpometacarpal joint of the middle finger, which will be used to establish a local coordinate system. ten-camera motion capture system (Optitrak Prime X13; NaturalPoint Inc., OR, USA) will be used to record the finger movements. Bipolar surface electrodes (Myosystem 14; Noraxon Inc., Scottsdale, AZ) will be placed to record the activity of…
Inclusion Criteria for stroke survivors: * Age: 18 - 70 years old * First-ever unilateral cortical stroke with resultant hemiparesis at least 6 months prior to the experimental testing * Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Section 31 - 55 Exclusion Criteria for both stroke and control: * Presence of concurrent severe medical illness * Pain in hand or arm with movements * Loss of voluntary control of fingers and thumb * Inability to provide informed consent * Musculoskeletal injuries (e.g., fracture) or medical complications (e.g., severe cardiovascular disease).
Assistive devices with distinct assistance dynamics
Finger will be moved by the actuators connected to the fingertip
Arctuva estimate
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