IIT-Delhi, AIIMS researchers devise a robotic hand for paralytics

NEW DELHI: Researchers from IIT-Delhi, in collaboration with AIIMS, have developed the first robotic hand exoskeleton device for rehabilitation of wrist and finger joints for stroke survivors. The product secured a US patent for its design and innovation in August this year.

The device is based on a four-bar mechanical link, which can be controlled by patients through muscle activity. It’s customisable through a simple user interface. “The exoskeleton can be used by patients according to their clinical symptoms. Active participation of the patient is ensured through muscle activity (electromyogram) and visual feedback,” said a researcher.

Professor MV Padma Srivastava, head of the neurology department at AIIMS, told TOI that the product would be launched in November by ICMR and the main aim was to make it accessible to patients at a low cost.

Dr Neha Singh said the robotic exoskeleton training showed improvement not only in the wrists and finger joints of stroke patients, but even in brain signals. The study demonstrated greater improvement in both clinical scales and neuroplasticity in response to robotic exoskeleton therapy compared with conventional rehabilitation.

Prof Amit Mehndiratta from IIT-Delhi said once the affected hand was mounted on the exoskeleton, the patient could voluntarily make an effort for wrist movement, which was measured by a controller.

“Once the patient’s effort is sufficient, as decided by the copyrighted algorithm, the device assists the patient’s hand for wrist and fingers movement. The controller continuously measures the effort of the patient and automatically increases or decreases the muscle activity threshold to keep the patient engaged and encouraged throughout the therapy. Each patient is enrolled for a month and undergoes 20 robotic therapy sessions of 45 minutes daily for five days each week,” said Mehndiratta.

The clinical testing of phase-III was funded by ICMR under the centre of advanced research and excellence in disability and assistive technology. The device would be more compact, lightweight and aesthetic compared with the one used during the phase-II trial. Phase-III of the trial was started in 2020 and “rigidity removal” worked 100%.

“In phase-I, the product design was frozen. Case control trial was conducted in phase-II, which showed good improvement while using the robot compared with home-based exercise therapy on 12 patients in each category,” Mehndiratta said.