Evaluation of a wearable orthosis and an associated algorithm for tremor suppression.
We describe a wearable orthosis and an associated algorithm for the simultaneous assessment and treatment of essential tremor, one of the most common movement disorders in humans involving an overactivity of the olivo-cerebellar pathways. A motor providing effective viscosity is fixed on a wearable orthosis in the upper limbs. The motor is controlled by a personal computer with software processing in real time the position and rate of rotation of the joint detected by a chip gyroscope. The orthosis can be used in a monitoring mode and in an active mode. The range of tremor suppression of the signals above the orthosis operational limit ranges from about 3% (percentile 5) to about 79% (percentile 95) in relation to energy in the monitoring mode. Considering both postural and kinetic, the mean tremor energy decreased from 55.49 +/- 22.93 rad2 s(-3) in the monitoring mode to 15.66 +/- 7.29 rad2 s(-3) in the active mode. Medians of power reduction were below 60% for the wrist and the elbow. In addition to supplying new information on the interactions between kinematics, dynamics and tremor genesis, this non-invasive technique is an alternative to current therapies. This new approach will provide new insights into the understanding of motor control.
Manto
Mario
M
Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Erasme-ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium. mmanto@ulb.ac.be
Rocon
Eduardo
E
Pons
Jose
J
Belda
Juan Manuel
JM
Camut
Stephane
S
D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D003020:Clothing; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*