The present paper proposed a central-driven structure of upper limb rehabilitation robot in order to reduce the volume of the robotic arm in the structure, and also to reduce the influence of motor noise, radiation and other adverse factors on upper limb dysfunction patient. The forward and inverse kinematics equations have been obtained with using the Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) parameter method. The motion simulation has been done to obtain the angle-time curve of each joint and the position-time curve of handle under setting rehabilitation path by using SolidWorks software. Experimental results showed that the rationality with the central-driven structure design had been verified by the fact that the handle could move under setting rehabilitation path. The effectiveness of kinematics equations had been proved, and the error was less than 3°by comparing the angle-time curves obtained from calculation with those from motion simulation.
Objective To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of designing wide pedicle of abdominal pedicled flap and repairing large skin defect of upper limb with improved suture method. Methods Between March 2014 and August 2016, 11 cases with hand and forearm skin soft tissue defect were repaired with abdominal pedicled flaps. Among them, 8 cases were male and 3 were female; aged 18-65 years (mean, 38 years). The causes of injury were machinery injury in 7 cases and traffic accident in 4 cases. The wound located at left upper limb in 6 cases and right upper limb in 5 cases. The size of wound ranged from 12 cm×7 cm to 20 cm×10 cm. The interval from injury to operation was 2-5 days (mean, 4 days). Four cases were repaired with lower abdominal flap and 7 with umbilical flap. The size of flap ranged from 10 cm×9 cm to 22 cm×10 cm. And the flap was designed with wide pedicle at width of 8 to 18 cm (mean, 15 cm); then the wound was sutured with improved method. The pedicle was cut after 3 weeks. Results All the flaps survived without congestion, necrosis, and tension blisters. The wound and the incision were both healed at stage Ⅰ. All patients were followed up 4-12 months (mean, 8 months). The skin color, texture, and shape were satisfying, and no ulcer formed. Only line-like scar left at the donor site. Conclusion Abdominal pedicled flap with wide pedicle and improved suture method can reduce the abdominal skin waste, avoid postoperative infection, and be feasible to repair large skin defect of upper limb with advantages of simple operation and reliable fixation.
Robot rehabilitation has been a primary therapy method for the urgent rehabilitation demands of paralyzed patients after a stroke. The parameters in rehabilitation training such as the range of the training, which should be adjustable according to each participant’s functional ability, are the key factors influencing the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapy. Therapists design rehabilitation projects based on the semiquantitative functional assessment scales and their experience. But these therapies based on therapists’ experience cannot be implemented in robot rehabilitation therapy. This paper modeled the global human-robot by Simulink in order to analyze the relationship between the parameters in robot rehabilitation therapy and the patients’ movement functional abilities. We compared the shoulder and elbow angles calculated by simulation with the angles recorded by motion capture system while the healthy subjects completed the simulated action. Results showed there was a remarkable correlation between the simulation data and the experiment data, which verified the validity of the human-robot global Simulink model. Besides, the relationship between the circle radius in the drawing tasks in robot rehabilitation training and the active movement degrees of shoulder as well as elbow was also matched by a linear, which also had a remarkable fitting coefficient. The matched linear can be a quantitative reference for the robot rehabilitation training parameters.
With the aging of the society, the number of stroke patients has been increasing year by year. Compared with the traditional rehabilitation therapy, the application of upper limb rehabilitation robot has higher efficiency and better rehabilitation effect, and has become an important development direction in the field of rehabilitation. In view of the current development status and the deficiency of upper limb rehabilitation robot system, combined with the development trend of all kinds of products of the upper limb rehabilitation robot, this paper designed a center-driven upper limb rehabilitation training robot for cable transmission which can help the patients complete 6 degrees of freedom (3 are driven, 3 are underactuated) training. Combined the structure of robot with more joints rehabilitation training, the paper choosed a cubic polynomial trajectory planning method in the joint space planning to design two trajectories of eating and lifting arm. According to the trajectory equation, the movement trajectory of each joint of the robot was drawn in MATLAB. It laid a foundation for scientific and effective rehabilitation training. Finally, the experimental prototype is built, and the mechanical structure and design trajectories are verified.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical effect of the end-traction upper limb rehabilitation training system on patients with upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke.MethodsPatients with upper limb motor dysfunction who were admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from September to November 2019 were selected. According to the software, the patients were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group. Both groups received conventional medical treatment, basic rehabilitation, and activities of daily living training. In addition, the control group received traditional occupational therapy, while the experimental group received end-traction upper limb rehabilitation training. The training time of both groups was 30 min/ (times ·d) and 5 days per week. Rehabilitation evaluation and recording were performed before and after the four-week treatment in both groups using the simplified upper extremity Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and the modified Barthel index (MBI).ResultsA total of 36 patients were enrolled, with 18 in each group. All patients completed the experiment, and no special discomfort was observed. Before the treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in FMA and MBI between the experimental group [(13.22±3.13) and (49.66±6.81) points] and the control group [(14.78±1.70) and (51.67±6.65) points] (t=1.858, 0.896; P=0.072, 0.377). After four-week treatment, FMA and MBI in both groups improved significantly (P<0.05); the difference between the experimental group [(27.56±15.68) and (73.55±8.72) points] and the control group [(17.67±6.73) and (65.33±9.20) points] was statistically significant (t=2.459, 2.751; P=0.019, 0.009).ConclusionsThe end-traction upper limb rehabilitation training system can significantly improve the upper limb motor function of patients with upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke and improve the patients’ daily life ability. It is worthy of clinical promotion and application.
Objective To observe the effect of transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) on the recovery of upper limb motor function in stroke patients and explore its mechanism. Methods The inpatients with ischemic stroke and hemiplegia admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University between November 2019 and December 2021were prospectively included. The patients were randomly divided into a true stimulation group and a false stimulation group. All patients received routine medication treatment and rehabilitation training, with a course of 2 weeks. The patients in the true stimulation group also received TUS, and the stimulation site and mode in the false stimulation group were the same as those in the true stimulation group, but the transducer was in a non working mode. The changes in upper limb function and motor cortex electrical activity before and after treatment were compared between two groups of patients. The Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT), and Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities (FMA-UE) were used as indicators of upper limb motor function. The motor evoked potential (MEP) latency, resting motor threshold (RMT), cortical silent period (CSP), and central motor conduction time (CMCT) were used as indicators of cortical excitability. Results A total of 30 patients were included, with 15 in the true stimulation group and 15 in the false stimulation group. There was no statistically significant difference in age, gender, course of disease, lesion side, handedness, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score, and Barthel Index between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in WMFT score, JHFT time, and FMA-UE score between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). After treatment, the WMFT score and FMA-UE score of both groups of patients increased compared to before treatment within the group, while the JHFT time decreased compared to before treatment within the group (P<0.05). The improvement degree of WMFT score (19.2±8.0 vs. 11.8±5.5), JHFT time [(39.3±20.4) vs. (26.0±15.9) s], and FMA-UE score [14.0 (12.0, 16.0) vs. 8.0 (7.0, 9.0)] before and after treatment in the true stimulation group were better than those in the false stimulation group (P<0.05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in MEP latency, CSP, CMCT, and RMT between the two groups of patients (P>0.05). After treatment, the MEP latency, CSP, CMCT, and RMT of both groups of patients decreased compared to before treatment within the group (P<0.05). The degree of decrease in CSP [(33.5±12.3) vs. (18.5±5.5) ms], CMCT [3.5 (2.5, 5.8) vs. 1.8 (1.5, 3.4) ms], and RMT [(19.2±12.8)% vs. (8.8±8.7)%] in the true stimulation group before and after treatment were greater than those in the false stimulation group (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the degree of decrease in MEP latency between the two groups before and after treatment (P>0.05). Both groups of patients had no adverse reactions during the treatment period. Conclusion TUS applied to the primary motor cortex can help restore upper limb motor function in stroke patients, and the mechanism of action may be related to TUS enhancing cortical excitability in the affected brain.
Objective To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of ulnar cortex transverse transport technique in treating upper extremity thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO). MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 7 male patients with upper extremity TAO who were admitted and met the inclusion criteria between January 2019 and July 2022. The patients ranged in age from 32 to 50 years, with a mean age of 40.1 years. The disease duration ranged from 6 to 24 months, averaging 13.6 months. The smoking history ranged from 8 to 31 years, with a mean of 18.4 years. All patients presented with finger ulcers or gangrene, including 1 case affecting the thumb and index finger, 1 case affecting the index and middle fingers, 1 case affecting the middle and ring fingers, 1 case affecting only the ring finger, and 3 cases affecting the ring and little fingers. The preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 9.1±0.7. All patients underwent treatment with the ulnar cortext transverse transport technique. The wound healing time and the disappearance time of rest pain were recorded. The VAS score was used to assess the degree of hand pain before and after operation. Serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels were measured before operation and at 1 month after operation. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the affected limb was performed before operation and at 3 months after operation to evaluate changes in blood vessels. The clinical outcomes were evaluated at 1 year after operation based on the Patwa and Krishnan grading system. ResultsAll 7 patients were followed up 12-17 months, with an average of 13.7 months. All patients experienced successful healing of ulcers, with wound healing time ranging from 14 to 21 days, averaging 17.3 days. During the follow-up, no complication occurred, and there was no recurrence of ulcers. The disappearance time of rest pain ranged from 8 to 15 days, averaging 12.1 days. The pre- and post-operative (1-month) serum IL-6 levels were (25.1±5.9) pg/mL and (11.9±2.9) pg/mL, respectively, with a significant difference (t=5.363, P=0.002). CTA examination at 3 months after operation revealed partial revascularization of upper extremity arteries and establishment of collateral circulation, showing significant improvement compared to preoperative status. The VAS scores at 1, 7, 28 days, and 6 months postoperatively were 6.4±0.8, 3.7±0.8, 0.6±0.8, and 0.1±0.4, respectively, all of which significantly improved compared to preoperative scores (P<0.05). Furthermore, the VAS scores gradually decreased over time, with significant differences observed between postoperative time points (P<0.05). At 1 year after operation, the effectiveness of all 7 patients were evaluated as excellent based on the Patwa and Krishnan grading system. ConclusionThe ulnar cortex transverse transport technique can improve blood circulation in the upper limb of patients with TAO, reconstruct microcirculation, inhibit inflammation, promote ulcer healing, and alleviate limb pain.