Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper design and fabrication of a wrist exoskeleton robot (ROBOWRIST) has been discussed. The robot has 3 degree of freedom, including flexion/extension, abduction/ adduction and pronation/supination based on the anatomical axis of the body. Four stepper motors are responsible for creating the motion. The exoskeleton can be used for neurorehabilitation and also post-surgery of wrist and forearm. Various therapeutic procedures with a precise tracking can be handled using the control algorithms. Each motor has a separate encoder to measure the angular position and send feedback to the controller. The design goal is to construct a reliable robot that is robust and applicable for... 

In recent years, robotic rehabilitation has been utilized in treatment and recovery of patients with disabilities. In this paper, a novel design and kinematic analysis of a 4-DOF robot for upper-limb rehabilitation are proposed. The main novelty of this design is its mechanism for wrist and fingers motions which is added to the shoulder and elbow mechanism without any noticeable weight increase in the moving parts of the robot. For this purpose, a cable driven mechanism is implemented at the robot end-effector to move the wrist and fingers parts, and the corresponding actuators are placed at the base of the robot. © 2018 IEEE  

Objectives: To examine the changes in torque output resulting from fatigue, as well as changes in electromyographic measures of trunk muscles during isometric axial rotation and to compare these changes between directions of axial rotation. Design: Subjects performed fatiguing right and left isometric axial rotation of the trunk at 80% of maximum voluntary contraction while standing upright. Setting: A rehabilitation center. Participants: Twenty-three men with no history of back pain. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Surface electromyographic signals were recorded from 6 trunk muscles bilaterally. The primary torque in the transverse plane and the coupling torques in... 

Introduction: Cerebellar ataxia is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly in progressive forms, where gait and balance problems are the most debilitating symptoms. Exercise training is a critical component of rehabilitation in managing equilibrium dysfunction, and stationary bicycling is a safe, feasible, and effective method to reduce the symptom. Clinical walking performance tests are typically used to assess gait in these patients. However, gait analysis technologies are more sensitive and accurate at detecting subtle and subclinical changes. The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in gait parameters in MS patients with ataxic gait after using a... 

This paper will focus on the design and development of a new gait training robotic device (LOKOIRAN) for patients with balance and locomotion disorders. The process of rehabilitation in this system is based on partial weight bearing system and programmable foot-plate training. The system consisted of several subsystems following: Driving and transmission system, back supporting system, leg exoskeleton, body weight support system and control system. A virtual reality environment was also designed and integrated to the system in order to motivate patients during rehabilitation protocol. The experimental tests on healthy subjects were performed to evaluate the performances of mechanical and... 

Gait training is a critical rehabilitation procedure for patients suffering from walking problems. It, however, puts the therapist in high orthopedic risk since he should prevent the patient from possible falling. Body weight support system is a new technology helping such patients and the involved therapist by unloading a percent of the patient's weight. A new over-ground body weight support is introduced in this article. The system is composed of two main modules namely unloading and traction. The unloading module is capable of suspending an individual's weight up to 1000N dynamically. The whole system is attached to an overhead rail, moving over the head of the patient by the traction... 

Over the past few years, visual prostheses (namely, Argus II retinal implant) and gene therapy have obtained FDA approval in treating blindness resulting from retinitis pigmentosa. Compared to gene therapy; Argus II is less costly with a demonstrated favorable outcome, though the vision is yet artificial. To obtain better results, expectation counseling and preoperative retinal assessment are critical. The global experience with Argus II has enrolled no more than 300 cases so far. The first Argus II retinal prosthesis in Iran was successfully implanted in Shiraz (October 2017). To date, Argus II artificial retina is implanted in four patients in Iran. Beside successful surgery and... 

Some existing platforms may have some problems with probable extreme future loads such as earthquake. From economic point of view, it is preferable to retrofit and continue using of existing jackets in many cases, in comparison to a new installation. Two efficient rehabilitation methods of friction damper device and buckling restrained braces are presented and investigated numerically for seismic loads from far-fault and near-fault earthquakes. As an example, an existing four-leg service platform placed in the Persian Gulf (Ressalat) is considered and the results are presented. Because of low redundancy in jacket platforms (after buckling of compression members), it is important to... 

Many research and development projects are being performed worldwide to develop new products and applications for computer-assisted and medical robotic systems. In this paper, an overview of selected state-of-the-art applications of robotic technology in medicine is presented. Four key areas of image-guided surgery, virtual reality in medicine, surgical robots, and robotic rehabilitation systems, are studied. As well, current challenges in research and development are discussed. Copyright  

The aim of this study was to estimate the test-retest reliability of some commonly used center of pressure measures in postural control investigations of sport injuries under the diverse stressful postural conditions. Twelve patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury were evaluated on two separate sessions. The center of pressure was recorded from force platform and the following measures were calculated (1) standard deviation of amplitude (2) mean velocity (3) standard deviation of velocity (4) phase plane parameters and (5) area (95% confidence ellipse). Relative and absolute reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficient and coefficient of variation, respectively.... 

Rehabilitation is the best approach for patients who suffer physical disability of their upper-limbs. Maintaining the intensity of exercise during treatment is the main factor that makes the robots suitable for rehabilitation since robots do not get tired and do the exercises with constant intensity under supervision of the doctor. Two main categories of rehabilitation robots are End-Effector based robots and wearable robots. According to the fact that most problems occur in need of rehabilitation for hand wrist area, in this paper a wearable rehabilitation robot has been developed for the wrist. Nowadays, wearable robots attract more attention than the other group. Wearable robots are... 

Robot-mediated rehabilitation is a rapidly advancing discipline that seeks to develop improved treatment procedures using new technologies, e.g., robotics, coupled with modern theories in neuroscience and rehabilitation. A robotic device was designed and developed for rehabilitation of upper limbs of post stroke patients. A novel force feedback bimanual working mode provided real-time dynamic sensation of the paretic hand. Results of the preliminary clinical tests revealed a quantitative evaluation of the patient's level of paresis and disability