Haptidrive, Universal Haptic Drive

QUALITY OF LIFE UNIT

Universal Haptic Drive A low cost clinical device for comprehensive rehabilitation of the upper arm and wrist Universal Haptic Drive Motivation The aim of robotically assisted rehabilitation (RAR) is to increase the efficiency in the delivery of rehabilitation care for stroke patients while simultaneously improving the quality of that care.

The immediate and growing population of persons with upper limb impairments, particularly from incidents of stroke, is well known as a combined result of increasing life expectancies, increasing population of elderly, and the increased prevalence of stroke with age.

Currently worldwide, 15 million persons suffer a stroke each year and 5 million persons are left with permanent disability.

Studies have shown that early rehabilitation after the onset of stroke, which is generally organized by clinician in the hospital or rehabilitation center, is critical for optimal stroke recovery.

The Universal Haptic Drive (UHD) project aims at developing a low-cost technology for rehabilitation of neuromuscular impairment in the upper extremities. The patented UHD system is composed of: (1) a pantograph mechanism with three lockable joints allowing eight operational training modes that train various forms of arm reach and wrist orientation; (2) an integrated spring suspension system that allows the amount of limb weight supported by the user to be measured and adjusted; and (3) two low-cost actuators that provide power to the system in each of the 8 training modes through an inherently safe and compliant series elastic actuation system.

Therefore, successful delivery of early therapy can maximize chances of recovery as well as reduce further cost of the rehabilitation program after discharge from the hospital.

Universal Haptic Drive Market The principle market for the Universal Haptic Drive is in training patients in the clinical environment for early training.

The technology can be extended to a variety of impairments stemming from orthopedic injury, surgery, or neuromuscular disorders.

The initial point of market introduction is through clinical treatment of acute- and sub-acute stroke, where general acceptance of the technology by patients, physicians, and clinicians will lead to further technology endorsement, prescription, and reimbursement.

Universal Haptic Drive Solution The Universal Haptic Drive (UHD) solution is composed of the Haptic Drive device and simple training games that are used in different training modes.

The hardware design uses a pantograph mechanism with three lockable joints allowing eight operational training modes for arm and wrist rehabilitation. The innovative lock design enables clinicians to quickly change from one training mode to another.

DC motor assembly, are utilized in each of the eight training modes. Interaction forces between the user and system during training are measured in two degrees of the transverse plane. Low-cost force sensing, the low number of actively powered joints despite a high number of system degrees of freedom, and the use of the same two actuators in each of the training modes are innovative aspects of the system that contribute to its reduced overall cost.

In addition, a spring suspension system incorporated into the device allows desired loading levels supported by the arm to be measured, thereby the limb load requirements can be tailored to the ability of the patient and the phase of their recovery. Grasp force of the hand is also measurable through a pneumatic cushion placed on the handle.

The UHD solution allows intensive and motivated interactive training in game and virtual environments with quantitative measures of user interactions. The data is available for use in real-time feedback, short- and longterm progress reports, trend analyses, clinical assessment, and treatment planning.

Two controlled degrees of freedom actuated by the series elastic actuators, composed of a spring, cable and

The UHD has been assessed through 2 clinical tests and outcomes showed significant improvements in upperlimb ability following training session.

Product Differentiation SINGLE DEVICE OFFERING 8 TRAINING MODES

SAFE, COMPLIANT, AND LOW COST ACTUATION

Although previous and existing solutions offered for the clinical market such as the InMotion, ARMEO, ReoGo are available for both arm and wrist training, they require additional equipment which comes with increases in complexity, cost, and assembly time. The UHD, however, allows 8 training modes for both arm and wrist through the locking or unlocking of three easy-to-use joint locks.

For reliable haptic performance and safety, 2 sets of series elastic (SE) actuator, meaning only two active motors, are utilized in powering the system in all 8 training modes. In addition, the SE actuators are composed of low cost springs, cables, and DC motors while providing sufficient performance for haptic training.

These and other low cost components of the Haptic Drive allow the system to reach a much lower price point than existing competitors.

VARIABLE GRAVITATIONAL SUPPORT

A, B and C are 3 lockable joints that allow quick change between the device modes

Contact info: salud@tecnalia.com www.tecnalia.com/health T 902 760 000* T +34 946 430 850 (International calls)

Relevant evidence shows that the range of motion of the arm increases under progressive abduction loading of the shoulder. For this reason the spring suspension mechanism in the UHD provides variable gravitational support with the capacity to measure the amount of partial limb weight being supported as well as to impose loading levels above that induced by the weight of the arm itself.

TECNALIA is a company working in applied research in Spain and reference point in the European Research Area. The members of TECNALIA ended 2010 with a combined workforce of over 1.450 researchers and a turnover of close to 122 million euros.

TECNALIA Parque Tecnolรณgico de Bizkaia C/ Geldo Edificio 700 E-48160 Derio (Spain) T 902 760 000 T +34 946 430 850 www.tecnalia.com