Paralysis Aid : Bionic Glove

One of the most common disabilities found in humans is stroke paralysis causing the inability of muscles or groups of muscles to move. According to medical research movement of muscles are completely based on message sent from the brain. Due to stroke paralysis muscles may get affected as a part of

Project Title

Paralysis Aid : Bionic Glove

Project Area of Specialization

Biomedical Engineering

Project Summary

One of the most common disabilities found in humans is stroke paralysis causing the inability of muscles or groups of muscles to move. According to medical research movement of muscles are completely based on message sent from the brain. Due to stroke paralysis muscles may get affected as a part of the brain stops its functions. This is mainly caused by the death of brain cells because of blockage of a blood vessel supplying the brain or bleeding into or around the brain. This may cause full-body paralysis at worst scenarios, but our project is limited to only hand paralyzed people.

Hand paralyzed patients are not able to perform daily activity independently and thus must rely on human assistance for basic activities of daily living like feeding, self-care, and mobility. According to World Health Organization estimation, 15 million people suffer from this stroke worldwide each year and according to PSS claims, nearly 12,000 out of 100,000 people suffer from paralysis in Pakistan.

To facilitate people with such issue, initiation was done by a Korean startup, Noefect, in 2010 by specializing in ‘Smart’ Glove to help patients rehabilitate an impaired hand. This device was controlled by remote controller with basic features such as grabbing and dropping.

If we investigate local development, a startup named as Bioniks (2016) works in 3-D robotic prosthetic arms to help revolutionize healthcare. Their main target audience are those people who are completely disable from arm.

Inspired by Bioniks and Noefect, in our project we will be moving the same concept to all five fingers, using a glove, keeping in mind of being user-friendly. Our device is focused on comfortable use by the user/patient.  With the help of bluetooth module, we will be connecting gloves with mobile app which will be used to perform therapy exercises. Based on different levels, exercises will be performed, with the help of servo motors attached, along with breaks in between.

Project Objectives

Paralysis can cause weakness or complete loss of muscle function and sensation in the body.
They are not able to do their daily life activities by not depending on others.

The objectives of the project are as follows.
• Easy access; lightweight glove for hand paralysis rehabilitation,
• People can perform daily therapy exercises by themselves.
• Makes handicapped people independent without having to rely on others.

Project Implementation Method

We have divided entire project into two major modules; hardware and software. Hardware consists of glove designing, and circuit implementation. Whereas in software part, app development took place keeping in mind an interface which is friendly to users without any complications and easy to handle. At the last stage, both these modules were integrated with the help of Bluetooth module.

Benefits of the Project

Besides being a huge support in physiotherapy, this project will be giving a ray of hope for respective patients. Just because of being physically disabled they become a burden to people and have to rely on others to perform basic activities. After performing medically proven exercises stage by stage, they will start recovering from paralysis and slowly and gradually will be back on track performing all the tasks like a normal person.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Aluminum wire will be acting as a support for 5 fingers which will be connected to a servo motor with a winch and other circuit components. That servo motor will be monitored by Arduino having all the code to perform respective exercises and based on need, the respective code will be initiated. In order to operate Arduino based on when to run or not, with the help of a Bluetooth module, the mobile application will be connected which will be having lists of exercises. Based on user input in the form of touch, a particular code in Arduino storage will be executed.

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Medical

Other Industries

Core Technology

Wearables and Implantables

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com