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Robotics
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Medical and Rehabilitation Robots
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Medical and Rehabilitation Robots

A special issue of Robotics (ISSN 2218-6581). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Robotics and Service Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2022) | Viewed by 33425

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Med Amine Laribi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut PPRIME, CNRS, Université de Poitiers, ISAE-ENSMA, UPR 3346 Poitiers, France
Interests: robotics; biomechanical engineering; rehabilitation; biomimicry; mechanical design; service robotics; human–robot collaboration; compliant joint
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Saïd Zeghloul

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department GMSC, Institut PPRIME, CNRS, Université de Poitiers, ENSMA, UPR 3346, 86962 Poitiers, France
Interests: robot design; computer-aided design for robotics; object manipulation with mechanical hands; robots collision free path-planning

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

In the field of medical robotics, relevant advances have been made and new robotic medical applications will continue to emerge. One can mention several design approaches and methodologies proposed by researchers leading to the implementation of innovative robots dedicated to robotic applications in medicine.

For instance, rehabilitation has become an essential phase in the care of most patients with disabilities. These disabilities can be congenital or acquired, lasting or temporary, caused by accident or even following surgery to treat motor disorders of the limbs. Furthermore, assistive robotics could help in defining suitable mechanisms for these rehabilitation tasks, in particular the use of parallel robots due to their advantages for medical applications, namely their accuracy and dynamic performance.

Robots equipped with actuators and sensors allow for optimal control and precise feedback, which provide patients and experts with the necessary assistance required to perform complex movements with multiple degrees of freedom in motion.

Such solutions allow suitable interaction with the medical environment and respect the physiological constraints of both the patient and the human operators, as well as allow the instantaneous monitoring of the biomechanical parameters.

This Special Issue aims to attract cutting-edge research and review articles on parallel robots, specifically medical robots, regarding the aspects of synthesis, design, analysis, and control.

Prof. Dr. Med Amine Laribi
Prof. Dr. Saïd Zeghloul
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Robotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Parallel robots
  • Synthesis and mechanical design
  • Collaborative robots
  • Teleoperation and co-manipulation
  • Control
  • Cable-driven parallel robots
  • Haptic devices

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

21 pages, 15099 KiB  
Article
A New Design Identification and Control Based on GA Optimization for An Autonomous Wheelchair
by Mohamed A. Shamseldin, Eissa Khaled, Abdelrahman Youssef, Diaaeldin Mohamed, Shady Ahmed, Abdallah Hesham, Amira Elkodama and Mohamed Badran
Robotics 2022, 11(5), 101; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/robotics11050101 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2824
Abstract
The daily lifestyle of an average human has changed drastically. Robotics and AI systems are applied to many fields, including the medical field. An autonomous wheelchair that improves the degree of independence that a wheelchair user has can be a very useful contribution [...] Read more.
The daily lifestyle of an average human has changed drastically. Robotics and AI systems are applied to many fields, including the medical field. An autonomous wheelchair that improves the degree of independence that a wheelchair user has can be a very useful contribution to society. This paper presents the design and implementation of an autonomous wheelchair that uses LIDAR to navigate and perform SLAM. It uses the ROS framework and allows the user to choose a goal position through a touchscreen or using deep learning-based voice recognition. It also presents a practical implementation of system identification and optimization of PID control gains, which are applied to the autonomous wheelchair robot. Input/output data were collected using Arduino, consisting of linear and angular speeds and wheel PWM signal commands, and several black-box models were developed to simulate the actual wheelchair setup. The best-identified model was the NLARX model, which had the highest square error (0.1259) among the other candidate models. In addition, using MATLAB, Optimal PID gains were obtained from the genetic algorithm. Performance on real hardware was evaluated and compared to the identified model response. The two responses were identical, except for some of the noise due to the encoder measurement errors and wheelchair vibration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical and Rehabilitation Robots)
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14 pages, 3219 KiB  
Article
Performance Index for Dimensional Synthesis of Robots for Specific Tasks
by Miguel Díaz-Rodríguez, Pedro Araujo-Gómez and Octavio Andrés González-Estrada
Robotics 2022, 11(2), 51; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/robotics11020051 - 16 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2399
Abstract
This study proposes a performance index for the dimensional optimization of parallel manipulators with specific tasks. In particular, the index evaluates the dexterity of the mechanism to be designed and compares it with that of the required specific task, e.g., rehabilitation tasks. The [...] Read more.
This study proposes a performance index for the dimensional optimization of parallel manipulators with specific tasks. In particular, the index evaluates the dexterity of the mechanism to be designed and compares it with that of the required specific task, e.g., rehabilitation tasks. The proposed index is implemented to design a 3UPS + RPU parallel manipulator for performing physical rehabilitation treatments on lower limbs. First, the condition numbers of both the mechanism and the lower limb are determined. Subsequently, the indexes are compared such that both systems exhibit similar dexterity. As a case study, the approach is implemented in the dimensional synthesis of the 3UPS + RPU parallel manipulator. The optimization approach enables obtaining a dexterity space of the mechanism that best matches that of the lower limb. The results are graphically presented, showing the matching areas of both workspaces, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed index. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical and Rehabilitation Robots)
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14 pages, 4507 KiB  
Article
Active Soft Brace for Scoliotic Spine: A Finite Element Study to Evaluate in-Brace Correction
by Athar Ali, Vigilio Fontanari, Werner Schmölz and Sunil K. Agrawal
Robotics 2022, 11(2), 37; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/robotics11020037 - 21 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5046
Abstract
Scoliosis is a spinal disorder that is conventionally treated using rigid or soft braces. Computational methods such as finite element-based models are used to investigate the mechanics of the spine and the effect of braces. Most spinal braces are either passive, static, or [...] Read more.
Scoliosis is a spinal disorder that is conventionally treated using rigid or soft braces. Computational methods such as finite element-based models are used to investigate the mechanics of the spine and the effect of braces. Most spinal braces are either passive, static, or rigid and do not allow mobility to the spine, resulting in muscle atrophy, skin deterioration and other spine complexities. Lack of control over the amount of force being exerted by braces on the human spine could have adverse effects. Therefore, developing an active soft brace which allows mobility to the spine while applying controlled corrective forces could be a promising solution. This study presents finite element analysis (FEA) of an active soft brace that applies corrective forces using elastic bands. The pressure exerted by the brace on the spine can be controlled by varying the tensions in the elastic bands. The elastic band tensions are controlled using low-power, lightweight, and twisted string actuators (TSAs). This study aims to demonstrate the immediate corrections induced by the soft active brace using a scoliotic spine finite element (FE) model. A FE model of the patient’s trunk was created and validated with in vitro study. The brace model was installed on the simulated trunk to evaluate in-brace correction in both sagittal and coronal planes. The brace was evaluated under various load cases by simulating the actuator action. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical and Rehabilitation Robots)
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16 pages, 7278 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity Based Selection of an Optimal Cable-Driven Parallel Robot Design for Rehabilitation Purposes
by Ferdaws Ennaiem, Abdelbadiâ Chaker, Juan Sebastián Sandoval Arévalo, Med Amine Laribi, Sami Bennour, Abdelfattah Mlika, Lotfi Romdhane and Saïd Zeghloul
Robotics 2021, 10(1), 7; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/robotics10010007 - 31 Dec 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3375
Abstract
This paper deals with the design of an optimal cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) for upper limb rehabilitation. The robot’s prescribed workspace is identified with the help of an occupational therapist based on three selected daily life activities, which are tracked using a Qualisys [...] Read more.
This paper deals with the design of an optimal cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) for upper limb rehabilitation. The robot’s prescribed workspace is identified with the help of an occupational therapist based on three selected daily life activities, which are tracked using a Qualisys motion capture system. A preliminary architecture of the robot is proposed based on the analysis of the tracked trajectories of all the activities. A multi-objective optimization process using the genetic algorithm method is then performed, where the cable tensions and the robot size are selected as the objective functions to be minimized. The cables tensions are bounded between two limits, where the lower limit ensures a positive tension in the cables at all times and the upper limit represents the maximum torque of the motor. A sensitivity analysis is then performed using the Monte Carlo method to yield the optimal design selected out of the non-dominated solutions, forming the obtained Pareto front. The robot with the highest robustness toward the disturbances is identified, and its dexterity and elastic stiffness are calculated to investigate its performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical and Rehabilitation Robots)
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Review

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42 pages, 4180 KiB  
Review
A Review of Active Hand Exoskeletons for Rehabilitation and Assistance
by Tiaan du Plessis, Karim Djouani and Christiaan Oosthuizen
Robotics 2021, 10(1), 40; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/robotics10010040 - 03 Mar 2021
Cited by 77 | Viewed by 18214
Abstract
Disabilities are a global issue due to the decrease in life quality and mobility of patients, especially people suffering from hand disabilities. This paper presents a review of active hand exoskeleton technologies, over the past decade, for rehabilitation, assistance, augmentation, and haptic devices. [...] Read more.
Disabilities are a global issue due to the decrease in life quality and mobility of patients, especially people suffering from hand disabilities. This paper presents a review of active hand exoskeleton technologies, over the past decade, for rehabilitation, assistance, augmentation, and haptic devices. Hand exoskeletons are still an active research field due to challenges that engineers face and are trying to solve. Each hand exoskeleton has certain requirements to fulfil to achieve their aims. These requirements have been extracted and categorized into two sections: general and specific, to give a common platform for developing future devices. Since this is still a developing area, the requirements are also shaped according to the advances in the field. Technical challenges, such as size requirements, weight, ergonomics, rehabilitation, actuators, and sensors are all due to the complex anatomy and biomechanics of the hand. The hand is one of the most complex structures in the human body; therefore, to understand certain design approaches, the anatomy and biomechanics of the hand are addressed in this paper. The control of these devices is also an arising challenge due to the implementation of intelligent systems and new rehabilitation techniques. This includes intention detection techniques (electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), admittance) and estimating applied assistance. Therefore, this paper summarizes the technology in a systematic approach and reviews the state of the art of active hand exoskeletons with a focus on rehabilitation and assistive devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical and Rehabilitation Robots)
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