SOPHIA: Soft Orthotic Physiotherapy Hand Interactive Aid

This work describes the design, fabrication and initial testing of a Soft Orthotic Physiotherapy Hand Interactive Aid (SOPHIA) forstroke rehabilitation. SOPHIA consists of: 1.) A soft robotic exoskeleton, 2.) A microcontroller based control system driven by aBrain-Machine Interface (BMI), and 3.) A sensorised glove for passive rehabilitation. In contrast to other rehabilitation devices,SOPHIA is the first modular prototype of a rehabilitation system that is capable of three tasks: aiding extension based assistiverehabilitation, monitoring patient exercises, and guiding passive rehabilitation. Our results show that this prototype of thedevice is capable of helping healthy subjects to open their hand. Finger extension is triggered by a command from the BMI, whileusing a variety of sensors to ensure a safe motion. All data gathered from the device will be used to guide further improvementsto the prototype, aiming at developing specifications for the next generation device, which could be used in future clinical trials.