title: A Magnetic Resonance Compatible Soft Wearable Robotic Glove for Hand Rehabilitation and Brain Imaging.
abstract: In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and evaluation of a soft wearable robotic glove, which can be used with functional Magnetic Resonance imaging (fMRI) during the hand rehabilitation and task specific training. The soft wearable robotic glove, called MR-Glove, consists of two major components: a) a set of soft pneumatic actuators and b) a glove. The soft pneumatic actuators, which are made of silicone elastomers, generate bending motion and actuate finger joints upon pressurization. The device is MR-compatible as it contains no ferromagnetic materials and operates pneumatically. Our results show that the device did not cause artifacts to fMRI images during hand rehabilitation and task-specific exercises. This study demonstrated the possibility of using fMRI and MR-compatible soft wearable robotic device to study brain activities and motor performances during hand rehabilitation, and to unravel the functional effects of rehabilitation robotics on brain stimulation.
authors.lastname: Hong Kai Yap
authors.forename: Nazir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kamaldin
authors.lastname: Jeong Hoon Lim
authors.forename: Fatima A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Nasrallah
authors.forename: James Cho Hong
authors.initials: JCH
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.lastname: Chen-Hua Yeow
mesh_terms: D001186:Artificial Limbs; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000295:instrumentation*; D062207:Brain-Computer Interfaces; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D000067190:Exoskeleton Device; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000066530:Neurological Rehabilitation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity