A Game-Based Approach for Hemiplegia Lower Limb Rehabilitation

Gian, Kah Shin Michelle; Then, Yi Lung; Tay, Fei Siang; Ahmed, Jubaer; Vithanawasam, Chamath Kalanaka

Abstract

Hemiplegia is paralysis which occurs on one half of the body. Rehabilitation for hemiplegic patients, in order to prevent muscle degeneration from prolonged under-usage, can be boring as it requires the same movements to be performed repeatedly. This research project aims to reduce the cost of rehabilitation for hemiplegia patients by demonstrating an exoskeleton with the implementation of only a single active actuator as opposed to other complex designs with multiple active actuators. Moreover, the proposed game-based exercises can motivate and minimize boredom of patients in lengthy and intensive therapy sessions. This paper presents the design, control and preliminary evaluation on the feasibility of a low-cost rehabilitation approach that can be implemented for both home based therapy or rehabilitation center therapy. The proposed approach demonstrates a lower extremity exoskeleton with the implementation of only one DC motor located at the hip, in which it is linked to a video game, and is monitored and controlled by an ATmega328 microcontroller based on commands from the video game. Preliminary result shows that the movement of the exoskeleton can be controlled through commands from the video game but with a delay of 2s.

Citation

Gian, K. S. M., Then, Y. L., Tay, F. S., Ahmed, J., & Vithanawasam, C. K. (2018, July). A Game-Based Approach for Hemiplegia Lower Limb Rehabilitation. Presented at 2018 2nd International Conference on BioSignal Analysis, Processing and Systems (ICBAPS), Kuching, Malaysia

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 2018 2nd International Conference on BioSignal Analysis, Processing and Systems (ICBAPS)
• Start Date: Jul 24, 2018
• End Date: Jul 26, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Nov 8, 2018
• Publication Date: 2018
• Deposit Date: Dec 28, 2021
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Pages: 103-108
• Book Title: 2018 2nd International Conference on BioSignal Analysis, Processing and Systems (ICBAPS)
• ISBN: 153861278X
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICBAPS.2018.8527417
• Keywords: exoskeleton, robot-assisted training, lower extremity, game therapy, hemiplegia, paralysis, rehabilitation
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2823335