Exoskeleton Robot for Diagnosis, Therapy and Tremor Stabilization

Abstract: Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It develops gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while a tremor may be the most well known sign of Parkinson's disease, the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative condition, affecting an estimated four to six million people worldwide. This aim of this project is to develop a supporting unit for the patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease to help them carry out simple day to day activities without depending on any external help. The tremor stabilization unit uses the principle of a self balancing robot is made to assist the patients with Parkinson’s disease. An upper limb exoskeleton robot, the intelligent arm, which can control the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, was developed; aiming to support clinicians and patients with continued monitoring. This project will be helpful for the patients who are suffering from these mentioned problems. The prototype has three modes of operation. In the first mode doctor can monitor and control the duration of exercise and also receive feedback from patients. In the second mode the patient can do therapy himself with help of our system and doctor can observe the patient via feedback data. By analyzing this data doctor can determine patient’s health conditions as well as can give instructions according to the present condition of the patient. In the final mode, the tremor stabilization part is carried out.

Keywords: Parkinson's Disease, tremor, DOFs, exoskeleton, physiotherapy aid, Fuzzy Logic, Simulink, MATLAB.