Surface EMG-Validated Multi-DoF Wheelchair-Based Rehabilitation Device

Rehabilitation is a critical component in the recovery of patients with either complete or partial loss of motor movements. Repeated and slow limb movements are usually advised by practitioners. Advanced robotic systems can help to configure monotonous movements and accelerate the recovery process as an alternative to therapist-assisted motions, especially during the later phase of recovery. In this work, robotic-assisted human limb movements are engineered and augmented with a novel electromyography (EMG) signal to characterize the movements. The proposed lower- and upper-limb assistive system is designed on a wheelchair platform and is IoT-enabled. The proposed assistive system is designed for patients affected with hemiplegia, paraplegia and tetraplegia. Existing state-of-the-art (SOTA) systems are typically focused on either the upper or lower limbs, with limited degrees of freedom (DoF). The IoT framework for remote access enables the possibility of home-based rehabilitation. A prototype was successfully developed and experiments to characterize various muscle movements using the proposed system were performed.