Hand paralysis, caused by conditions such as spinal cord injuries, strokes, and arthritis, significantly hinders daily activities. Wearable exo-gloves and telerehabilitation offer effective hand training solutions to aid the recovery process. This study presents the development of lightweight wearable exo-gloves designed for finger telerehabilitation. The prototype uses NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators to control five fingers. Specialized end effectors target the metacarpophalangeal (MCP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP), and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints, mimicking human finger tendon actions. A variable structure controller, managed through a web-based Human–Machine Interface (HMI), allows remote adjustments. Thermal behavior, dynamics, and overall performance were modeled in MATLAB Simulink, with experimental validation confirming the model’s efficacy. The phase transformation characteristics of NiTi shape memory wire were studied using the Souza–Auricchio model within COMSOL Multiphysics 6.2 software. Comparing the simulation to trial data showed an average error of 2.76°. The range of motion for the MCP, PIP, and DIP joints was 21°, 65°, and 60.3°, respectively. Additionally, a minimum torque of 0.2 Nm at each finger joint was observed, which is sufficient to overcome resistance and meet the torque requirements. Results demonstrate that integrating SMA actuators with telerehabilitation addresses the need for compact and efficient wearable devices, potentially improving patient outcomes through remote 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 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.

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.

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.

In this section, several examples of task-specific haptic systems are given. They shall give an insight in the process of defining haptic interactions for a given purpose and illustrate the development and evaluation process outlined in this book so far. Examples were chosen by the editors to cover different basic system structures.