Efficient FEM Based Optimization of a Parallel Robotic System for Upper Limb Rehabilitation

Cardiovascular stroke (CVS) is one of the leading causes of motor disabilities worldwide, and unfortunately the number of cases keeps increasing, and will continue to increase until personnel shortages will make the motor rehabilitation procedure to be more challenging. The main solution for this is the automation of the rehabilitation process through the use of robotic technologies capable of providing high dosage and intensity training with minimal interference from the kinesiotherapy specialist. In this paper, the authors present a parallel robotic solution for the rehabilitation of the wrist joint. FEM based simulations are carried out on the most stressed/strained components to identify the reaction forces acting on them during the execution of a rehabilitation exercises. Furthermore the mechanical structure of the targeted components is optimized and placed under FEM analysis again to demonstrate the improvements that have been brought, while tests in medical environment are presented to validate the rehabilitation robotic system.