Assessment of Upper-Extremity Joint Angles Using Harmony Exoskeleton. 2021

Ana C De Oliveira, and James S Sulzer, and Ashish D Deshpande

The biomechanical complexity of the human shoulder, while critical for functionality, poses a challenge for objective assessment during sensorimotor rehabilitation. With built-in sensing capabilities, robotic exoskeletons have the potential to serve as tools for both intervention and assessment. The bilateral upper-extremity Harmony exoskeleton is capable of full shoulder articulation, forearm flexion-extension, and wrist pronation-supination motions. The goal of this paper is to characterize Harmony's anatomical joint angle tracking accuracy towards its use as an assessment tool. We evaluated the agreement between anatomical joint angles estimated from the robot's sensor data and optical motion capture markers attached to the human user. In 9 healthy participants we examined 6 upper-extremity joint angles, including shoulder girdle angles, across 4 different motions, varying active/passive motion of the user and physical constraint of the trunk. We observed mostly good to excellent levels of agreement between measurement systems with for shoulder and distal joints, magnitudes of average discrepancies varying from 0.43° to 16.03° and width of LoAs ranging between 9.44° and 41.91°. Slopes were between 1.03 and 1.43 with r > 0.9 for shoulder and distal joints. Regression analysis suggested that discrepancies observed between measured robot and human motions were primarily due to relative motion associated with soft tissue deformation. The results suggest that the Harmony exoskeleton is capable of providing accurate measurements of arm and shoulder joint kinematics. These findings may lead to robot-assisted assessment and intervention of one of the most complex joint structures in the human body.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067190 Exoskeleton Device Device designed to wear externally to support muscular skeletal system in various movements such as RANGE OF MOTIONS; WEIGHT-BEARING; GAIT; and LOCOMOTION. Robotic Exoskeleton,Device, Exoskeleton,Devices, Exoskeleton,Exoskeleton Devices,Exoskeleton, Robotic,Exoskeletons, Robotic,Robotic Exoskeletons
D001132 Arm The superior part of the upper extremity between the SHOULDER and the ELBOW. Brachium,Upper Arm,Arm, Upper,Arms,Arms, Upper,Brachiums,Upper Arms
D001696 Biomechanical Phenomena The properties, processes, and behavior of biological systems under the action of mechanical forces. Biomechanics,Kinematics,Biomechanic Phenomena,Mechanobiological Phenomena,Biomechanic,Biomechanic Phenomenas,Phenomena, Biomechanic,Phenomena, Biomechanical,Phenomena, Mechanobiological,Phenomenas, Biomechanic
D012785 Shoulder Joint The articulation between the head of the HUMERUS and the glenoid cavity of the SCAPULA. Glenohumeral Joint,Glenoid Labrum,Glenohumeral Joints,Joint, Glenohumeral,Joint, Shoulder,Joints, Glenohumeral,Joints, Shoulder,Labrum, Glenoid,Shoulder Joints
D014955 Wrist Joint The joint that is formed by the distal end of the RADIUS, the articular disc of the distal radioulnar joint, and the proximal row of CARPAL BONES; (SCAPHOID BONE; LUNATE BONE; triquetral bone). Joint, Wrist,Joints, Wrist,Wrist Joints
D016059 Range of Motion, Articular The distance and direction to which a bone joint can be extended. Range of motion is a function of the condition of the joints, muscles, and connective tissues involved. Joint flexibility can be improved through appropriate MUSCLE STRETCHING EXERCISES. Passive Range of Motion,Joint Flexibility,Joint Range of Motion,Range of Motion,Flexibility, Joint
D034941 Upper Extremity The region of the upper limb in animals, extending from the deltoid region to the HAND, and including the ARM; AXILLA; and SHOULDER. Extremity, Upper,Membrum superius,Upper Limb,Extremities, Upper,Limb, Upper,Limbs, Upper,Upper Extremities,Upper Limbs

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