3D printed gloves for rehabilitating stroke patients (Image source: IISc)
A stroke can lead to lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death. In India, stroke is estimated to be the third leading cause of death and the sixth leading cause of disability. There are very few treatments available for rehabilitating stroke victims and patients with physical injuries. One is physiotherapy, which usually takes days to months depending on the severity of the disability, thus making it challenging for patients and their attendants. Another challenge is that physiotherapy often requires daily hospital visits.
To address these challenges, researchers in the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed 3D printed, soft wearable gloves for rehabilitating stroke patients.
The customisable device exploits the fundamental properties of light to sense a patient's limb or finger movements. It can be remotely controlled, opening up the possibility of teleconsultation by physiotherapists, the institute said in an official statement.
"The idea behind the device is that you wear something like a glove, the physiotherapist controls the device from a remote location through the internet, and makes your hands and fingers move," explained Aveek Bid, Associate Professor at the Department of Physics, whose team has developed the device.
According to the developers, the device can sense various hand and finger movements, and precisely detect parameters like pressure, bending angle and shape.
The researchers described the device is based on the fundamental properties of light: refraction and reflection. How it works? They explain:
A light source is placed at one end of a transparent rubbery material, and the other end has a light detector. Any movement in the finger or arm of the patient causes the flexible material to deform. The deformation alters the path of light, and thereby its properties. The device translates this change in light properties to a quantifiable unit. Since light travels across the entire length of the device, movement along any part of the patient's finger or arm can be accurately measured.
Team member Abhijit Chandra Roy, DST-Inspire Faculty at the Department of Physics and the brain behind the project, claimed that the device is highly sensitive enough to respond to the touch of a butterfly.
He added that while the existing devices can only detect the bending of a finger, their gloves can even measure the degree of bending at every joint of the finger.
Further, the researchers explained that they used a silicon-based polymer material that is transparent (facilitating manipulation of light) and soft (for comfort and repeated use). Because it is 3D printed, it can be customised to fit each patient's arm and fingers.
The gloves can also capture and store data, and transmit it over the internet, facilitating remote monitoring by clinicians or physiotherapists, they added.
Bid stated that the device has been entirely designed and manufactured in India, and it is expected to cost less than Rs 1,000.
How long the gloves can last? The researchers found no loss of sensitivity or accuracy for over 10 months.
The researchers have filed a patent the device and they hope to launch it in the market soon.
A stroke occurs when a blockage interrupts or reduces the supply of blood to the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. Stroke is the 2nd leading causes of death worldwide, responsible for approximately 11 per cent of total deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.
