Upper limb rehabilitation support device using a pneumatic cylinder

For this study, we developed a device to support rehabilitation of a human’s upper limb’s uses a pneumatic cylinder to absorb shock through compression of air. It has a simple structure and a high power-weight ratio. For use in a clinical scene, this easy-to-use device has a simple mechanism and a simple control system. By incorporating a pneumatic cylinder into the device, a lightweight and compact mechanism can be created. Although a simple link mechanism is used with the device, it has a wide operating range. Consequently, using the device, a patient can operate upper limbs without discomfort or effort. This rehabilitation support device we developed has two rehabilitation support functions for motions that an occupational therapist performs. For those functions, a position control system and compliance control system are applied to realize two rehabilitation support modes. Some experiments were performed to evaluate the device and its control system for rehabilitation support functions.