Open AccessUpper limb vibration prototype with sports and rehabilitation applications: development, evaluation and preliminary study
Author(s) -
Pujari Amit Narahar,
Neilson Richard D.,
Aphale Sumeet S.,
Cardinale Marco
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
healthcare technology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.45
H-Index - 19
ISSN - 2053-3713
DOI - 10.1049/htl.2016.0069
Subject(s) - software portability , vibration , computer science , rehabilitation , electromyography , scalability , actuator , physical medicine and rehabilitation , simulation , acoustics , physical therapy , medicine , physics , artificial intelligence , database , programming language
Vibration stimulation as an exercise intervention has been studied increasingly for its potential benefits and applications in sports and rehabilitation. Vibratory exercise devices should be capable of generating highly precise and repeatable vibrations and should be capable of generating a range of vibration amplitudes and frequencies in order to provide different training protocols. Many devices used to exercise the upper body provide limited variations to exercise regimes mostly due to the fact that only vibration frequency can be controlled. The authors present an upper limb vibration exercise device with a novel actuator system and design which attempts to address these limitations. Preliminary results show that this device is capable of generating highly precise and repeatable vibrations with independent control over amplitude and frequency. Furthermore, the results also show that this solution provides a higher neuromuscular stimulation (i.e. electromyography activity) when compared with a control condition. The portability of this device is an advantage, and though in its current configuration it may not be suitable for applications requiring higher amplitude levels the technology is scalable.