Every year, over 795,000 people have a stroke in the United States alone. About 185,000 of those people have suffered from strokes previously. Approximately 80% of those stroke victims are left with some form of weakness or paralysis on the opposite side of their body from where the stroke occurred, known as Hemiplegia. The recovery period from a stroke can be a long and arduous process, focused on the physical rehabilitation of the weakened or paralyzed limbs.
Many medical devices have been made to assist stroke patients with rebuilding motor control in their arms, such as the ArmeoSpringPro, pictured to the left. Devices such as these are very effective with the rehabilitation of stroke victims, but they can be very large and very expensive, which can limit access to these machines to hospitals or larger physical therapy clinics. Smaller, more local clinics may struggle to obtain devices such as these due to the high cost, making these less accessible to patients who need access to rehabilitation devices for their recovery.
In the Spring of 2024, another senior capstone team worked with Dr. Razavian to create a small and affordable tabletop robot designed to assist with the physical rehabilitation of recovering stroke victims. The team was inspired by the shape of a computer mouse, and aimed to make a robot that would use a similar shape, but a bit larger, which is how they came up with The Hamster. Utilizing three omni-directional wheels, a touchscreen interface, and a dome on top for the user to hold on to, it would roll across the table using specific programs that would mimic certain movements of the arm, all in the effort to help rebuild motor control in a stroke patient's arm. Learn more about their project here. (Image credit from the Hanster Team's website)
The Hamster ended up being larger than initially anticipated, and its motion was limited to two-dimentional movement. Our team's solution is The Flying Squirrel. The purpose is to replicate the same function of The Hamster, to help patient's rebuild their motor control through motions and a small amount of force, while adding the ability to lift upwards. Using three cables connected to anchors, The Flying Squirrel will be able to smoothly glide across a table with higher accuracy in position tracking than The Hamster had. Two lead screws on either side of the handle will allow the robot to extend up to a foot above its starting position. It will feature several programs for the user to select to mimic simple motions, or more complex movements of the arm, like eating from a bowl of soup. During its use, the patient will push against the movement of the robot during these programs, helping rebuild strength and control in their arms. Special sensors inside the robot will be able to adjust the force it outputs against the user as needed. Its smaller profile also allows for easier storage and transport, and will help reduce the cost of each device. Pictured to the left is our final CAD design that we will be moving forward with.
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