Device to Guide Hand Rehabilitation Routines Based on Pressure Signals

Several technologies applied to the rehabilitation field use devices that provide to physiotherapists different kind of information to improve the assessment about patient evolution during rehabilitation plans. The new trend of these technologies is the development of safe, portable and comfortable wearable devices with wide application in different environments. This paper presents a proposal of a portable and safe device for hand rehabilitation, composed of five thimbles, able to acquire pressure signals during the execution of movements guided by a videogame. The device has a display to show to the users different routines, in order to guide them about its use, and also evaluates pressure signals and response time. Here the design and construction of the device are presented, in addition to results of a pilot test with volunteers. The results demonstrate that pressure signals can be accurately acquired during user movements, and the device was considered safe to perform hand rehabilitation.