Maria Almenara1,2,3, Marco Cempini4, Cristina Gómez1,2,3, Mario Cortese4, Cristina Martín1,2,3, Josep Medina1,2,3, Nicola Vitiello4,5, Eloy Opisso1,2,3. 1. a Institut Guttmann, Neurorehabilitation Institute, Camí de Can Ruti , Badalona , Spain. 2. b Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Plaça Cívica, Cerdanyola del Vallés , Barcelona , Spain. 3. c Fundació Institut d'investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Carretera Canyet , Badalona , Barcelona , Spain. 4. d The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna , Pontedera , Pisa , Italy , and. 5. e Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi , Florence , Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: (1) To assess a robotic device (Handexos) during the design process with regard to usability, end user satisfaction and safety, (2) to determine whether Handexos can improve the activities of daily living (ADLs) of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and stroke patients with upper-limb dysfunction. METHODS: During a 2-year development stage of the device, a total of 37 participants (aged 22-68), 28 clinicians (experts) and nine patients with SCI or stroke (end users) were included in a user-centered design process featuring usability tests. They performed five grasps wearing the device. The assessments were obtained at the end of the session by filling out a questionnaire and making suggestions. RESULTS: The experts' opinion was that the modified device was an improvement over the preliminary version, although this was not reflected in the scores. Whereas end user scores for comfort, grasp, performance and safety were above the sufficiency threshold, the scores for year 2 were lower than those for year 1. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that although Handexos meets the initial functional requirements and underlines the potential for assisting SCI and post-stroke subjects in ADLs, several aspects such as mechanical complexity and low adaptability to different hand sizes need to be further addressed. Implications for Rehabilitation Wearable robotics devices could improve the activities of daily living in patients with spinal cord injury or stroke. They could be a tool for rehabilitation of the upper limb. Further usability tests to improve this type of tools are recommended.
PURPOSE: (1) To assess a robotic device (Handexos) during the design process with regard to usability, end user satisfaction and safety, (2) to determine whether Handexos can improve the activities of daily living (ADLs) of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and strokepatients with upper-limb dysfunction. METHODS: During a 2-year development stage of the device, a total of 37 participants (aged 22-68), 28 clinicians (experts) and nine patients with SCI or stroke (end users) were included in a user-centered design process featuring usability tests. They performed five grasps wearing the device. The assessments were obtained at the end of the session by filling out a questionnaire and making suggestions. RESULTS: The experts' opinion was that the modified device was an improvement over the preliminary version, although this was not reflected in the scores. Whereas end user scores for comfort, grasp, performance and safety were above the sufficiency threshold, the scores for year 2 were lower than those for year 1. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that although Handexos meets the initial functional requirements and underlines the potential for assisting SCI and post-stroke subjects in ADLs, several aspects such as mechanical complexity and low adaptability to different hand sizes need to be further addressed. Implications for Rehabilitation Wearable robotics devices could improve the activities of daily living in patients with spinal cord injury or stroke. They could be a tool for rehabilitation of the upper limb. Further usability tests to improve this type of tools are recommended.
Entities:
Keywords:
Activities of daily living; exoskeleton; hand function; orthoses; spinal cord injuries; stroke; usability test; user-centered design
Authors: Stevienna de Saille; Eva Kipnis; Stephen Potter; David Cameron; Calum J R Webb; Peter Winter; Peter O'Neill; Richard Gold; Kate Halliwell; Lyuba Alboul; Andy J Bell; Andrew Stratton; Jon McNamara Journal: Front Robot AI Date: 2022-06-21
Authors: Bernadette C Tobler-Ammann; Elif Surer; Ruud H Knols; N Alberto Borghese; Eling D de Bruin Journal: JMIR Serious Games Date: 2017-08-25 Impact factor: 4.143
Authors: Alexandra A Portnova; Gaurav Mukherjee; Keshia M Peters; Ann Yamane; Katherine M Steele Journal: PLoS One Date: 2018-02-22 Impact factor: 3.240