Purpose - This paper aims to review the mechanical characteristics of the robotic mechanisms developed for ultrasound examinations. This will help to extract those mechanical features which together can produce a design with superior functionality. Design/methodology/approach - Following an introduction regarding ultrasound examination, this paper discusses the concept of robotic ultrasound imaging and classifies the mechanisms in terms of their power trains used for robotic and haptic devices which assist physicians to perform ultrasound imaging on patients. A set of mechanical characteristics which together can generate a superior design is also presented. Findings - The present paper shows that the robotic devices developed so far can perform ultrasound examinations. Each design with its own advantageous characteristics, and their simultaneous implementation in a new design, will create a robotic device with improved performance. Originality/value - This paper provides a detailed review of the developments of the robotic systems for ultrasound examinations and some guidelines for new designs with improved functionality.

Hand rehabilitation is one of the most important rehabilitation procedures. Due to the repetitive nature of rehabilitation training, a full robotic system could help the physiotherapists to gain time for creating new training schemes for a larger number of patients. Such a system can be based on live or recorded data and consists of the operator-device, patient-device, and control mechanism. This paper focuses on the design of the patient-device and its control-system in a decoupled training scenario. It presents a robot for hand rehabilitation training fingers and wrist independently based on only two actuators. These two actuators are configurable to allow consecutive training on the wrist and all joints of the fingers. To overcome uncertainties and disturbances, a sliding mode controller has been designed and an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller is used to reduce the chattering effects and compensate the varying forces of the patients. The experimental results show an approximate 80% improvement in tracking the desired trajectory by the adaptation.

Eye-tracking systems have evolved into robust data acquisition tools for a variety of use cases. Some cost-effective and demonstrably accurate systems are available on the market. The primary purpose of such systems remains the detection of gaze points on surfaces to determine the interest of individuals. Very few applications attempted to use this technology to control devices. In this paper, we analyze the possibilities of controlling robotic devices by eye-tracking in a medical context. In particular, this could be useful as an aid for paralyzed individuals. We propose a system that uses inertial measurement in addition to eye tracking to measure head movements and the main sub-functions of the system are tested. The tracking and guiding a system has been studied, indicating that eye-tracking can generally be used for controlling robotic devices. It has been shown that different head movements are distinguishable and therefore can be used to switch between different functions of the device.

One of the most restricting conditions for any living being is the loss of mobility. For humans, quadriplegia is the most extreme form. Different causes like spinal cord or brain injuries resulting in various degrees of paralysis of all four limbs. In the most serious cases even the ability to feel is gone below the injury resulting in an absolute dependency on others. Technical devices are already able to help those affected in many ways. To regain some of their independence, a robot actuating their body and giving them their mobility back could be one approach. Since their conditions affect the ability to interact with a device the choices for an interface controlling device are limited. In this paper, a design for a one degree of freedom device for paralyzed patients is presented. This device is focusing on the wrist extension and flexion. It is considered as a demonstration platform for a new actuation and comfort approaches for assistive devices. Since moving the human body for manipulation of objects will require high output forces, using a hydraulic system is a good option for actuating the device. Thus, after designing the device, a suitable actuator has to be chosen. One of the problems in using hydraulic systems is their hard controlling task. For controlling this hydraulic actuator, an impedance controller is proposed. For evaluating the controlling system, two different experiments are designed and their results are explored.

Due to demographic change and the aging of the population, diseases such as strokes are expected to increase over the years. In this situation, the medical sector is reaching its capacity limits, making any solution that takes over time-intensive treatments that can be standardised relevant for the future. In this paper, a mechanism for finger rehabilitation therapy is presented. After identifying the requirements, a detailed investigation of the current situation of hand rehabilitation devices is presented. A working prototype for fingers is designed and built to show the capabilities of the mechanism. It can be operated independently and is adaptable to different hand sizes. The prototype consists of a linear microdrive connected to the finger mechanism via Bowden cables. Additive manufacturing (AM) was mainly used as the production method. The prototype was successfully tested on four people with hands of different sizes. It allowed an actuation of 85 to 110° for all joints. Different settings of the Bowden cable allow the actuation of different sections of the finger. Different settings of the mechanism, actuator, control analysis and optimization are presented.

Home rehabilitation is a great complement to inpatient rehabilitation, because it allows for more regular training, especially in rural areas, where the access to physiotherapists is limited. However, unsupervised training carries the risk of deviation from the prescribed protocol. An obvious solution is to introduce a technical means for rehabilitation and continuous monitoring of performance. This paper presents a robotic system for rehabilitation of three degrees of freedom of the wrist independently, implemented with only one actuator, optimizing the design and size of the system. The device provides measurements of joint torque-position dependence, allowing objective assessment of mechanical impedance and range of motion to evaluate the progress of rehabilitation. Derived from research on haptic devices, a measurement method was implemented to measure hand impedance in the high frequency range between 100 and 200 Hz using a combination of exciters and accelerometers in the handles. This allows continuous monitoring of gripping forces without the need for complex contact-based force sensors. In collaboration between the authors' technical and medical universities, a set of two-level passive and active safety measures was implemented to ensure the safety of the system's users. Therefore, the presented system shows the potential to evaluate the mechanical impedance of the wrist at both low and high frequencies and to monitor the progress during rehabilitation. In the next step, a baseline of wrist impedance will be measured in a target group of healthy volunteers in order to prepare for studies in motion-restricted subjects.

Home rehabilitation is a great complement to inpatient rehabilitation, because it allows for more regular training, especially in rural areas, where the access to physiotherapists is limited. However, unsupervised training carries the risk of deviation from the prescribed protocol. An obvious solution is to introduce a technical means for rehabilitation and continuous monitoring of performance. This paper presents a robotic system for rehabilitation of three degrees of freedom of the wrist independently, implemented with only one actuator, optimizing the design and size of the system. The device provides measurements of joint torque-position dependence, allowing objective assessment of mechanical impedance and range of motion to evaluate the progress of rehabilitation. Derived from research on haptic devices, a measurement method was implemented to measure hand impedance in the high frequency range between 100 and 200 Hz using a combination of exciters and accelerometers in the handles. This allows continuous monitoring of gripping forces without the need for complex contact-based force sensors. In collaboration between the authors’ technical and medical universities, a set of two-level passive and active safety measures was implemented to ensure the safety of the system’s users. Therefore, the presented system shows the potential to evaluate the mechanical impedance of the wrist at both low and high frequencies and to monitor the progress during rehabilitation. In the next step, a baseline of wrist impedance will be measured in a target group of healthy volunteers in order to prepare for studies in motion-restricted subjects.

In this study, the use of an eye tracking system is tested and discussed by using the tracked gaze point as a means to control a device. In this project, a two-dimensional simulated robot for paralyzed people was used to move the arm in the plane where the wrist is in a plane parallel to the frontal plane of the eye. Both MATLAB and Python programs are proposed for programming the eye tracking system (ET) and their results are compared. Moreover, the tests show how can this system works with robot and sampling rate which is important in robotic system is better than previous studies. At the end of the study, after mathematical modeling, a simulation of the three joint movements of the robotic arm was performed. This robot is designed in a way to move the arm of the paralyzed people. Several tests were performed and a multi-body simulation was connected to the eye tracker to verify the resulting interaction concept.

Vibrational heating therapy is a type of physical therapy that uses the application of heat and vibrations to stimulate the body’s healing process. The therapy is believed to promote circulation, reduce inflammation, and relieve muscle tension. It is often used to treat conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, and sports injuries. This paper presents the design-decisions for a device treating muscle soreness and to increase muscle strength through a combination of heat and vibration therapy to the upper leg. The system comprises farinfrared heat elements for heat transfer and two types of eccentric rotating masses (ERMs) and a linear resonant actuator (LRA) to vibrate muscle tissue. It discusses heating and vibration capability and performance. To optimize the mechanical effects of vibration therapy, the device must excite the muscle with an acceleration of more than 2 g and with a bandwidth as wide as the range of the muscle natural frequencies. For testing the heating and vibrational systems, they were tested in the same device on six different subjects with ethics permission from Technical University of Hamburg to obtain accurate results. Both ERMs were driven by DC power and yielded a bandwidth of about 30 Hz with a linear progression of acceleration over frequency, while the LRA was driven by AC power and achieved a bandwidth of about 24 Hz in the form of a bell curve. Also the selected heating element provides the desired temperature between 40 ∘C to 50 ∘C. Overall, the initial technical study showed promising measurement results and a mechanical effect in using this combination of heat and vibration therapy. As an outlook, the technical design of the next version of the device will include multiple actuators around the leg to provide more acceleration and aims to combine multiple LRAs with slightly shifted natural frequencies into one actuator module to extend the bandwidth.

Vibrational heating therapy is a type of physical therapy that uses the application of heat and vibrations to stimulate the body's healing process. The therapy is believed to promote circulation, reduce inflammation, and relieve muscle tension. It is often used to treat conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, and sports injuries. This paper presents the design-decisions for a device treating muscle soreness and to increase muscle strength through a combination of heat and vibration therapy to the upper leg. The system comprises farinfrared heat elements for heat transfer and two types of eccentric rotating masses (ERMs) and a linear resonant actuator (LRA) to vibrate muscle tissue. It discusses heating and vibration capability and performance. To optimize the mechanical effects of vibration therapy, the device must excite the muscle with an acceleration of more than 2 g and with a bandwidth as wide as the range of the muscle natural frequencies. For testing the heating and vibrational systems, they were tested in the same device on six different subjects with ethics permission from Technical University of Hamburg to obtain accurate results. Both ERMs were driven by DC power and yielded a bandwidth of about 30 Hz with a linear progression of acceleration over frequency, while the LRA was driven by AC power and achieved a bandwidth of about 24 Hz in the form of a bell curve. Also the selected heating element provides the desired temperature between 40 C to 50 C. Overall, the initial technical study showed promising measurement results and a mechanical effect in using this combination of heat and vibration therapy. As an outlook, the technical design of the next version of the device will include multiple actuators around the leg to provide more acceleration and aims to combine multiple LRAs with slightly shifted natural frequencies into one actuator module to extend the bandwidth.

In this demo, we would like to introduce a new wrist and forearm tele-rehabilitation system between the patient and the physical therapist. To provide haptic feedback between these two parties, an impedance controller was developed between these two systems. By changing the stiffness and damping coefficients, the quality of communication between these two systems is changed. This is a very useful system for tele- and home rehabilitation. Position, velocity, and torque data from both robots were collected and analyzed to verify that haptic feedback was generated. This data is also stored and sent to the physical therapist.

There are many people worldwide suffering from hand im- pairment due to stroke. The inabilities to extend the thumb and fingers are the obstacles that face those patients as they cannot successfully grasp and release objects in their daily lives. Therefore, the ability to regain the motion function of fingers of stroke patients becomes an im- portant research topic. Gamification of VR-based rehabilitation system encourages the patients to actively participate in rehabilitation, which could result in the better recovery of their fingers and ideally comple- ment conventional therapy. This research focuses on combining the VIVE headset, haptic feedback Sense Glove, implementing the software devel- opment of a Game that provides an engaging VR training environment for fingers rehabilitation. The VR game targets Hemiparesis patients who can train to pick and place virtual objects of different shapes and sizes in a virtual environment. The performance of the patients is analyzed by the system such that the most important assessment parameters turned out to be the velocity and acceleration of their hands. A report is dis- played after each level to assess their performance.

This work focuses on the combination of the VIVE headset, the Sense Glove with haptic feedback, and the software development of a game that provides an engaging VR training environment for finger and hand rehabilitation. The game is aimed at patients who can train to grasp and place virtual objects of various shapes and sizes in a virtual environment. The patients' performance is analyzed by the system. The main evaluation parameters are the speed and acceleration of the hands. After each level, a report is displayed to evaluate the performance. If the performance is good enough, the patient is guided to the next level.

In this study, we present a tomography-based control system for a rehabilitation robot using a novel approach to assess advancement and a dynamic model of the system. In this model, the torque generated by the robot and the impedance of the patient’s hand are used to determine each step of the rehabilitation. In the proposed control architecture, a regression model is developed and implemented based on the extraction of tomography signals to estimate the muscles state. During the rehabilitation session, the torque applied by the patient is adjusted according to this estimation. The first step of this protocol is to calculate the subject-specific parameters. These include the axis offset, inertia parameters, passive damping and stiffness. The second step involves identifying the other elements of the model, such as the torque resulting from interaction. In this case, the robot will calculate the torque generated by the patient. The developed robot-based solution and the suggested protocol were tested on different participants and showed promising results. First, the prediction of the impedance–position relationship was evaluated, and the prediction was below 2% error. Then, different participants with different impedances were tested, and the results showed that the control system controlled the force and position for each participant individually.

Our hands are the primary body part to interact with objects around us and perform most daily activities. Consequently, a disability of the hand after a stroke or an injury is one of the most severe restrictions to an independent life. To regain the function of the hand, physical therapy is used. Since the resulting rehabilitation process is slow and exhausting, there is a demand to use technology to create a way for patients to train medical exercises independently. In this paper, a rehabilitation system is presented that allows the patient to independently train medical wrist exercises while playing a serious video game. To identify the requirements, an analysis of previous systems is presented. The designed system consists of a haptic robot with a mechanical support structure that records the hand movements and inputs them into the rehabilitation game. The wrist and forearm movements of flexion & extension, radial & ulnar deviation and supination & pronation can be trained through this. To allow for the biggest possible usability throughout the therapy process, haptic feedback is used to either support the patient’s movement or offer resistance, which especially allows the use of passive training in the early stages of therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new design for a finger and wrist rehabilitation robot. Furthermore, a fuzzy sliding mode controller has been designed to control the system. Design/methodology/approach: Following an introduction regarding the hand rehabilitation, this paper discusses the conceptual and detailed design of a novel wrist and finger rehabilitation robot. The robot provides the possibility of rehabilitating each phalanx individually which is very important in the finger rehabilitation process. Moreover, due to the model uncertainties, disturbances and chattering in the system, a fuzzy sliding mode controller design method is proposed for the robot. Findings: With the novel design for moving the DOFs of the system, the rehabilitation for the wrist and all phalanges of fingers is done with only two actuators which are combined in one device. These features make the system a good choice for home rehabilitation. To control the robot, a fuzzy sliding mode controller has been designed for the system. The fuzzy controller does not affect the coefficient of the sliding mode controller and uses the overall error of the system to make a control signal. Thus, the dependence of the controller to the model decreases and the system is more robust. The stability of the system is proved by the Lyapunov theorem. Originality/value: The paper provides a novel design of a hand rehabilitation robot and a controller which is used to compensate the effects of the uncertain parameters and chattering phenomenon.

In this book, we aim to give a thorough introduction to machine dynamics. It covers the theoretical basis of dynamics, modelling, mechanical design, practical applications, kinematics and kinetics, principles of mechanics, equations of motion for multibody systems, applications to mechanisms, vehicle dynamics, and static and dynamic balancing. It covers a complete range of mechanisms and concepts, from the determination of degrees of freedom to the design of complex cams. This progression is explained at a reasonable pace so that by the end the reader is able to design and analyze mechanical systems. Throughout the book, we also try to introduce conceptual examples and exercises to make the text more practical and understandable for the reader and also useful as a reference for lectures in universities. In addition, most books in this field are too voluminous and therefore are not suitable as a reference for a lecture. In this book, we have reduced the unnecessary theory part and put more emphasis on practical examples. Moreover, it is written in such a way that it will guide the readers even if they have forgotten the dynamics and basic concept and provide enough information. So this book can be used as a self-study book.

Recorded acceleration data of tactile perception on 10 materials measured by HT356A44 from PCB Piezotronics moved by a universal robot on a path