The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Vibrotactile sensory substitution for post-stroke rehabilitation
Author:	Rosado, Carlos X
View Online:	njit-etd2007-040 (xii, 83 pages ~ 19.6 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Biomedical Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Biomedical Engineering
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Simone, Lisa K. (Committee chair) Foulds, Richard A. (Committee member) Meyer, Andrew Ulrich (Committee member) Mantilla, Bruno A. (Committee member)
Date:	2007-05
Keywords:	Post-stroke rehabilitation Vibrotactile feedback
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	The aftermath of a stroke leaves people with side effects such as speech and hearing problems, and loss of sensation in one side of their body. Sensory feedback in the hand is used to assess if the individual is using appropriate grip force to hold and use objects; lack of sensory feedback can lead to dropped or damaged objects, and possible hand injury. Existing force biofeedback devices are overly complex and difficult to use in the home. The goal of this project is to provide increased environmental awareness of hand grip force for individuals with reduced hand sensation. Although hand functionality is complex; a lightweight, low profile glove was created that measures a selected set of finger joint angles and force on finger tips. An algorithm was developed that combines this information to determine the current posture of the hand, and also provides the appropriate vibrotactile feedback to another location on the body that might allow individuals to recover some sense of touch. The method was between 96% and 100% successful in providing the appropriate vibrotactile feedback for normal and large grip forces. Predicting when objects were grasped too loosely was a greater challenge; leading to a separate study showing that appropriate grip force is related to object diameter. This project has identified a unique configuration of sensors and a initial algorithm that can be used improve sensory feedback for rehabilitation to help individuals recover some hand functionality.