Exploring Hand Exoskeleton Assistance and Rehabilitation through the Lens of Neuroscience
Abstract: Over 3 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from neurological chronic upper limb motor impairments and comorbidities, such as aphasia, which make it challenging or impossible to perform daily activities, adversely affecting quality of life. An assistive hand exoskeleton for powered finger extension and an equivalent MRI compatible hand exoskeleton were developed to both assist individuals with upper motor neuron injuries and study functionally relevant brain activation in parallel. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted to collect brain activation during hand exoskeleton use compared to manual hand therapy to determine if similar brain activation is elicited. Concurrent fMRI and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were used in a secondary study looking at brain activation during speech therapy and motor therapy to determine if a voice controlled hand exoskeleton task elicits similar brain activation as both individual tasks. A final study was conducted with two neurologically impaired subjects using the assistive hand exoskeleton and fNIRS to collect brain activation during realistic speech and motor therapy tasks to further evaluate voice control as a feasible user input method with assistive and rehabilitative potential.
Advisor: Professor Gregory Fischer
Committee: Professor Erin Solovey, Professor Loris Fichera, Professor Benjamin Nephew