Haptic device system for upper limb motor and cognitive function rehabilitation: Grip movement comparison between normal subjects and stroke patients

We have developed a rehabilitation system utilising a haptic device. This system aims to integrate motion and sensory therapy ensuring that the patient's interest is maintained and to establish a quantitative assessment of the level of disorder. This system consists of a haptic device, a computer and a LCD monitor. The user moves the grip of the haptic device according to the training program, which is displayed on the computer screen. The haptic device provides a virtual force to the grip. Various types of force can be applied, e.g. resistance, assistance, viscosity and friction. The basic and applied training programs are prepared for training and evaluation including training with simple motion and games. Suitable training can be chosen from the different types of training programs according to the patient's disability. An experiment was carried out with normal healthy subjects and patients who have upper limb dysfunction. The results indicated that this system could be used for quantitative assessment and provide tailor-made training programs for individual patients.