Structural Analysis of Thumb Mechanism Exoskeleton Design for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke is the second cause of death and the third cause of disability in the world. Stroke is a disease caused by a clot in the artery that supplies blood to the brain (ischemia). Rehabilitation is a solution to restore the function of parts of the body that have been disturbed by a stroke. Therefore, exoskeleton robots for stroke therapy are one solution to provide good rehabilitation. The exoskeleton robot supports healthy human hand movements and considers the safety and comfort factors during rehabilitation. The exoskeleton in this research uses a cable and sheath transmission mechanism with a locally situated motor as a design mechanism that guarantees safety and comfort. The design strength can be determined using ANSYS static structural assistance software so that the maximum stress in links 1, 2, and 3 is known within safe limits with anthropometric loading. Apart from that, the static structural simulation results show that link 1 can withstand a maximum load of 20 N or more in the X-axis loading, a load of 15 N in the Y-axis loading, and a load of 15 N in the Y-axis loading, and a load of 10 N in the Z-axis loading. Link 2 can withstand a maximum load of 10 N in the X-axis load and 20 N or more in the Y-axis load. Meanwhile, link 3 can withstand a maximum load of 20 N in the X-axis load and below 10 N in the Y-axis load.