BRIDGE - Behavioural reaching interfaces during daily antigravity activities through upper limb exoskeleton:...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Assistive Technology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Neuromuscular diseases cause progressive, whole-body weakness, impacting daily life and autonomy.
• Existing assistive technologies, like powered wheelchairs, improve mobility and survival but often neglect upper limb function.
• There is a need for systems that preserve and enhance residual upper limb capabilities in individuals with neuromuscular conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the BRIDGE project's novel upper limb exoskeleton system.
• To enable individuals with neuromuscular diseases to exploit their residual arm movement capabilities.
• To enhance functional autonomy and quality of life for users with progressive functional loss.

Main Methods:

• Development of a lightweight, wearable, five-degrees-of-freedom powered upper limb exoskeleton.
• Implementation of user-control interfaces including joystick and gaze control.
• Utilizing an inverse kinematic model for precise hand position tracking based on user input.

Main Results:

• Successful testing of the BRIDGE prototype in simulation and with healthy volunteers.
• Demonstrated good tracking performance of the implemented control scheme.
• Positive user feedback on the ease of interaction and overall system success.

Conclusions:

• The BRIDGE exoskeleton shows promise as an effective assistive device for individuals with neuromuscular diseases.
• The system successfully leverages residual upper limb function to maintain user autonomy.
• Further development and testing could significantly improve the quality of life for those with progressive functional decline.