Cerebral Palsy REHAB Glove and Muscle Car

Purpose: To develop and evaluate the REHAB Glove, a wearable hand rehabilitation system to aid in functional recovery of hands for patients with Cerebral Palsy (CP). We used a sensorized glove capable of monitoring and assisting CP patients' hand and finger motion for optimal rehabilitation and obtain quantifiable data to correlate to rehabilitation progression. We also tested a device called the Muscle Car which was designed to measure the resting hand tension of patients with CP. Occasional resting hand tension measurements for patients could be used to quantitatively show improvement through their rehabilitation regime. Methods: The REHAB Glove was tested on a typically developing child. The glove was run through a wide range of movements to test its functionality and practicality. The glove was also evaluated on ease of use and comfort to the patient. The Muscle Car was tested to prove proof of concept with volunteers from the lab. Resting hand tension data was recorded from each volunteer in a repeatable and standardized procedure. Results: We found that the REHAB Glove works as intended and is able to produce the needed force and movements to one day become a fully working rehabilitation device. Data collected from the Muscle Car was found to show a range of resting hand tension values that were consistent across our volunteers. Conclusion: The REHAB Glove is being continually tested and refined to one day be used to help treat kids with CP. The Muscle Car was proven to work and record its intended data.