title: Measuring the dynamic impedance of the human arm without a force sensor.
abstract: Rehabilitation robots may be used to accurately measure the mechanical impedance of the human arm in order to quantitatively assess the motor function of a patient undergoing neurorehabilitation therapy. However, the high cost of these robotic systems and their required sensors has posed a barrier to widespread clinical use. We present a technique to measure the mechanical impedance of the human arm without the need for a physical force sensor to measure human-robot interaction forces. Instead, these forces are accurately estimated by a virtual sensor that incorporates the robot's kinematics and dynamics, along with acceleration measurements from an inexpensive accelerometer. The identification techniques are validated on a mass-spring system of known impedance and are subsequently applied to data collected from the human arm.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dyck
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tavakoli
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*