Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 22, 2025
The Muscle Cuff Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface for the Amplification of Intact Peripheral Nerve Signals
Published on: January 13, 2022
A Vacuum-Powered Artificial Muscle Designed for Infant Rehabilitation
Mijaíl Jaén Mendoza1, Samuel Dutra Gollob2, Diego Lavado1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad de Ingenieria y Tecnologia-UTEC, Lima 15063, Peru.
Abstract:
The majority of soft pneumatic actuators for rehabilitation exercises have been designed for adult users. Specifically, there is a paucity of soft rehabilitative devices designed for infants with upper and lower limb motor disabilities. We present a low-profile vacuum-powered artificial muscle (LP-VPAM) with dimensions suitable for infants. The actuator produced a maximum force of 26 N at vacuum pressures of -40 kPa. When implemented in an experimental model of an infant leg in an antagonistic-agonist configuration to measure resultant knee flexion, the actuator generated knee flexion angles of 43° and 61° in the prone and side-lying position, respectively.
