RU198065U1 - REHABILITATION DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to medicine, in particular to the field of rehabilitation, and can be applied in procedures for restoring fine motor skills and improving elementary motor skills of patients in medical, preventive institutions, as well as outside the hospital, including at home. The rehabilitation device contains n sensors (n natural) for fixing on a person’s upper limb, a tracking unit, a control unit, the input of which is connected by a signal to the tracking unit, and the output is configured to connect to a computer interacting with the visualization unit. The visualization unit is configured to display the position and orientation in space of each of the sensors on a computer monitor screen. The sensors are made with the possibility of placement and fixation, respectively, on the distal phalanges of the fingers, on the middle part of the hand, on the forearm. Each sensor is an orientation sensor and contains an accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope. The tracking unit is configured to register and transmit data on the position and orientation in space of each of the sensors. Achieved visualization of an extended range of movements of the patient’s arm and simplification of the placement of the device for rehabilitation on the patient’s arm with reduced capabilities. 7 c.p. f-ly, 2 ill.

Description

The utility model relates to medicine, in particular to the field of rehabilitation, and can be applied in procedures for restoring fine motor skills of the hand and related neuropsychological characteristics of a person and improving elementary motor skills of patients in medical, preventive institutions, as well as outside the hospital, including at home, for training and restoration of movements in the interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal, wrist, radicular and elbow joints.

The mobility of the joints of the hands and arms decreases or is lost due to injuries, with damage to the central or peripheral nervous system, paralysis, etc. Treatment and rehabilitation for the restoration of fine motor skills and hand movements occurs due to repeated repeated repetition of movements. It is important that the motor zones of the human brain are restored due to a visual analysis of actions. Rehabilitation systems are traditionally aimed at solving the following problems: tracking movements, including small ones; imitations of real, everyday movements and skills: holding the item, turning, twisting / unscrewing the covers, etc .; determining changes in the patient's condition.

Currently, these tasks are being successfully solved by displaying human actions on a computer screen.

The display of gestures and hand movements is also known in robotics, in virtual reality technologies, when translating sign language into speech or text. To this end, devices have been developed that can track the position, orientation and movements of hands and fingers and display them on a monitor screen (see US Pat. Nos. 8,140,339 publ. March 20, 2012 and No. 7,565,295 publ. July 21, 2009). The devices contain accelerometer sensors that track the movement of flexion and extension of the fingers and hands and the rotation in the elbow joints of the hand. Moreover, these devices determine gestures from a set of predetermined individual positions of the hands and hands, do not take into account fine motor skills and are not intended for rehabilitation.

Also, a large number of methods and devices have been developed for displaying on the computer screen a virtual hand and its movements corresponding to the movements of a human hand, for example, US Pat. No. 6,452,584 publ. 09/17/2002, the system of control of computer animation in real time. The system includes a glove with sensors to detect hand movement. The sensors contain resistive material, so that any bending of the sensor leads to a deviation of the resistance values. Also, a number of methods display changes in the position of virtual objects in accordance with gestures, position and movement of the operator’s hand (see US patent 7,205,979 publ. April 17, 2007), the virtual objects themselves can be images of computer input devices, such as a joystick, mouse, brush , pen, keyboard, or other devices.

In the tasks of medical rehabilitation, it is important to repeat targeted exercises with instant feedback. Instant feedback can be a visual control of gestures displayed on the monitor screen, or changes in the positions of game objects depending on human movements. The motivation for the repeated repetition of certain actions is an interest in the process of computer games.

Known devices for rehabilitation (see US patents 5,562,707, publ. 08/10/1996, and 8,165,685, publ. 04.24.2012) in which using a glove with sensors mounted on it to produce electrical stimulation of the hand. These devices do not imply the patient’s active actions and are intended to restore the minimum motor functions of the upper limb.

A device for rehabilitation is known (see US patent 9,326,909, publ. 05/03/2016) containing micromotors that create vibrational sensations on the patient's limbs, depending on the selected computer program. A device for rehabilitation is known (see US patent 9,375,382, published June 28, 2016) containing an orthosis in the form of a glove, on which flexible rods and actuators are fixed to move them to ensure a sequence and / or combination of arm movements, and includes software for display simulated movements on a computer monitor. These devices are designed to perform passive movements of the patient’s hands to develop initial motor skills when they are completely lost. The disadvantage of these devices is the lack of visualization of the patient’s movements and motivation for the patient to independently repeat the hand movements.

A device for rehabilitation is known (see US patent 8,565,487, publ. 10/22/2013) containing sensors, a control unit and a unit for determining and visualizing on the computer screen a change in the position of the sensors. The disadvantage of this device is the difficulty in using due to the use of optical sensors, which generate signals depending on the information received from the landmarks illuminated by the optical source, the movements of which are related to the movements of the hands, and the insufficient accuracy of determining the orientation and position of the sensors.

The closest analogue of the developed device is a device for rehabilitation using video games (see application for US patent 20090098519, publ. 04/16/2009). The closest analogue contains sensors configured to fix them on the human body, a tracking unit, a control unit, the input of which is connected by a signal to the tracking unit, and the output is configured to connect to a computer, a visualization unit.

However, in the closest analogue, an additional device (controller-joystick) is used to track changes in the position of sensors in space, or optical sensors and special cameras are used, which complicates the device and makes it more bulky. The complexity of the design requires the participation of medical personnel and the presence of the patient in a medical institution, causing difficulties with independent patient training.

Thus, the task to which the developed utility model is directed is to provide training for an expanded spectrum of the patient's natural movements, increase patient motivation during rehabilitation, and reduce the medical load when using the developed device.

The technical problem to which the proposed utility model is aimed is the creation of a rehabilitation device that provides visualization of an extended spectrum of natural movements of the patient’s hand in real time.

The essence of the developed device for rehabilitation is that it, like the closest analogue, contains n sensors (n natural) made with the possibility of fixing on the upper limb of a person, a tracking unit, a control unit, the input of which is connected by a signal to the tracking unit, and the output is configured to connect to a computer, a visualization unit.

New in the developed device for rehabilitation is that the sensors are arranged to be placed and fixed, respectively, on the distal phalanges of the fingers, on the middle part of the hand, on the forearm, each sensor is an orientation sensor and contains an accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope, while the tracking unit made with the possibility of recording and transmitting data on the position and orientation in space of each of the sensors, and the visualization unit is configured to display on the computer screen the position and orientation in space of each of the sensors.

In the particular case, the tracking unit includes a microcontroller.

In another particular case, the sensors and the tracking unit are placed on the base, made in the form of a lining of the palm of the hand with pockets for the fingers, connected to the cuff, which is equipped with fastening devices on the forearm.

In another particular case, the sensors are located in compartments made on each of the parts of the lining corresponding to the fingers of the hand and the middle part of the lining, and the cuff is configured to fix at least one sensor.

In a specific implementation, the control unit is located on the base.

In the particular case, the tracking unit located on the base includes a microcontroller.

In another specific implementation, the control unit is mounted on the cuff.

In another specific implementation, one sensor and a control unit are located in a single housing on the cuff.

The implementation of the developed device with the possibility of placing sensors on both the hand and forearm allows you to visualize on the monitor screen the change in the position and orientation of the sensors in space, corresponding to the natural complex movements of the patient’s arm movements. The use of orientation sensors containing an accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope allows real-time processing and visualization of data on the movement of the patient’s arm, as well as improving the accuracy of determining the orientation and position of the sensors and, accordingly, parts of the patient’s arm in space, which is especially important for the development of fine motor skills . The use of an accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope in one sensor provides a reduction in the size and mass of the device, which allows the device to be used for rehabilitation outside medical facilities, placing sensors on the base and / or combining the microcontroller with the tracking unit enhances this result. The placement of the control unit on the base reduces the dependence on the specific configuration of the computer during rehabilitation procedures.

In FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of a device according to claim 1 of the formula of a utility model.

In FIG. 2 shows a specific implementation of the device for rehabilitation according to paragraphs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 formulas of a utility model.

The device of FIG. 1 contains sensors 1, designed to be placed on the distal phalanges of the patient’s fingers, a sensor 2, designed to be placed in the middle part of the hand, and a sensor 3, designed to be placed on the forearm. The signals from the sensors 1 and 2 are fed to the block 4 tracking changes in the position and orientation of the sensors 1, 2 in space. The output of unit 4 by signal is connected to the input of microcontroller 5. The inputs of control unit 6 are connected by signal from microcontroller 5 and sensor 3, and the output is connected to computer 7. Visualization unit 8 displays changes in virtual objects on the screen of computer 7 depending on a change in position and orientation of sensors 1, 2, 3.

The device of FIG. 2 contains a base 10 of the rehabilitation device, a patch 11 connected to the cuff 12. Parts 13 of the patch correspond to the fingers of the hand, compartments 14 are made at the ends of parts 13, in which the sensors are located 1. Pockets for fingers are made on the back of the compartments 14 and not shown in the drawing. The sensor 2 is located in the middle of the lining 11 in the compartment 15, the sensor 3 is placed on the cuff 12 of the base 10. Block 4 is combined with the microcontroller 5 and placed in the compartment 15. The control unit 6 is combined with the sensor 3 and connected to the computer 7 through the communication channel 16.

Each of the sensors 1,2,3 is a microchip with integrated 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis magnetometer and 3-axis gyroscope, and can be performed, for example, on the basis of microchips LSM9DS0, LSM9DS1 manufactured by STMicroelectronics (http: // www. st.com/content/st_com/en/products/mems-and-sensors/inemo-inertial-modules.html?querycriteria=productId=SC1448). or ICM-20948, MPU-9250, MPU-9150 from TDK InvenSense (https://www.invensense.com/products/motion-tracking/9-axis). Moreover, the data from each of the sensors 1, 2, 3 in the aggregate uniquely sets a vector corresponding to the orientation of the sensor in space. Sensors 1 are placed on the distal phalanges of the fingers. Sensor 2 is placed in the middle of the brush, and sensor 3 is placed on the forearm. When using the base 10, the sensors 1, 2 are placed in the compartments 14 and 15, respectively, the sensor 3 - on the cuff 12.

Calibration is carried out in the manufacture of the device, while the sensors are configured to minimize the systematic error arising from the error of the sensors.

Block 4 provides tracking of changes in the position of the sensors in space and transmits commands to configure and set the parameters of sensors 1, 2, 3, as well as receiving data from sensors 1, 2, 3 for subsequent processing. It is executed programmatically, for example, in the C ++ programming language. Block 4 is placed in compartment 15.

Data exchange between sensors 1, 2, 3 and block 4 can be carried out via wireless or wire channels that support the interfaces of such sensors, for example: SPI, 1-Wire, uart, USB 2.0, or their combinations, but not limited to. A wireless channel can be, for example, a radio channel, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE, LoRa, ZigBee and others. Wired channels can be

implemented, for example, on the basis of a VCOM cable VU6945, manufactured by VCOM international Co or a USB control cable of models USB2.0v, USB2.0v-3.2 manufactured by I-TAKI (http://www.1-cable.ru/models/10905-1001 .html # avail).

Microcontroller 5 performs the initial processing of data from Block 4, preliminary calculation of the orientation of sensors 1 and 2, for which a microcontroller such as, for example, STM32L151, STM32L152, STM32F103, from STMicroelectronics, can be used. (http://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers.html). nRF51822 by Nordic Semiconductor or other similar. When using the microcontroller 5, it is advisable to combine it with block 4, performing on the board of block 4. In the particular case, the operations of the microcontroller 5 according to preliminary calculation of the orientation of the sensors 1 and 2 are performed in block 6.

The control unit 6 receives data from unit 4 or, if available, from the microcontroller 5, processes it, converts the data, and transfers it to the computer 7. Unit 6 is made programmatically based on these microcontrollers, controls information flows, and provides data exchange between sensors 1, 2, 3 and blocks 6, 8, error indication. Block 6 is placed on the cuff 12. It is advisable that the sensor 3 and block 6 when placed on the cuff run in a single housing. Based on the data coming from block 4 or microcontroller 5, it calculates the orientation of the sensors. Orientation calculation is based on quaternion calculation algorithms using formulas known, for example, from books and articles: John H. Conway, Derek A. Smith. About quaternions and octaves: about their geometry, arithmetic and symmetries. - M.: MCCNMO, 2009 .-- 184 p .; Hazewinkel. Michiel. ed. (2001) [1994], "Quaternion". Encyclopedia of Mathematics. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. / Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4: V.I. Arnold, Geometry of complex numbers, quaternions and spins, - M.: MCCNMO, 2002, - 40 p.

Data exchange between block 6 and computer 7 can be carried out via wireless or wired channels. A wireless channel may be, for example, a radio channel, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, similarly to other wireless communication devices (input) with a computer. A wired channel can, for example, be formed via the USB interface, while it is possible to use a VCOMVU6945 cable manufactured by VCOM international Co or a USB control cable of models USB2.0v, USB2.0v-3.2 manufactured by I-TAKI (http: //www.1- cable.ru/models/10905-1001.html#avail).

Computer 7 can be any personal or mobile computer, including a tablet, which is convenient for carrying out rehabilitation procedures outside the hospital. As a computer, game consoles and consoles, as well as mobile phones, smartphones, communicators and other devices can be used. In the particular case, the computer monitor on which the position and orientation in the space of sensors are displayed is a display of virtual reality glasses.

Block 8 is made programmatically, in a high-level programming language, such as, for example, C ++, JAVA, the corresponding computer program provides a sequence of operations: the choice of the visualization mode in accordance with the selected game, the display of virtual objects depending on the movements of the patient’s hand. Two modes are used, one provides visualization in the form of movements of a virtual hand, and the second in the form of movements of game objects.

In the first mode, according to the data from block 6, a virtual arm is simulated on the monitor screen of computer 7, while it is advisable to fix the sensors 1 on the distal phalanges of the patient’s fingers so that the sensors reflecting the movements of a particular finger of the virtual arm are mounted on the corresponding finger of the patient’s hand. The position of the elbow of the virtual arm is set in the program, the position and orientation of the distal phalanges of the fingers, hands and forearms are determined based on data from sensors 1, 2, 3, the position and orientation of the middle and proximal phalanges of the finger is determined by interpolating data from sensors 1 and 2. In this case the movements of the virtual arm correspond to the movements of the patient's arm.

In the second mode, for the movement of game objects, angles are used between vectors determined from data from sensors 1 and 2, corresponding to movements in interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal, and wrist joints, or sensors 2 and 3 corresponding to movements in wrist, ray-elbow joints or sensor data 3. To provide feedback when visualizing complex natural movements of the patient’s hand through the corresponding movements of game objects, the interaction model of these objects must be physically correct, that is, sufficiently reproduce the action of the laws of gravity, elastic collision, etc., while the game space simulates the natural environment , and the movement of game objects is perceived by the patient as natural. For visualization, objects of standard graphic libraries, such as Havok Physics, Bullet Physics Library, are used. To simulate the surrounding space and its changes depending on the game situation, use the imposition of cubic and spherical textures, for example, using standard procedures of the graphics card.

The base 10 of the rehabilitation device is made of flexible materials such as latex, neoprene, vinyl, nylon, elastomers, woven and non-woven materials, real or artificial leather, etc. The base 10 of the rehabilitation device is made in the form of a lining 11 having the outline of a hand, does not have a palm part. To fix the sensors 1 and 2, compartments are made on each finger and on the middle part of the lining, respectively. The sensor 3, combined with the block 6, is placed on the cuff 12, rigidly fixed, for example, using brackets, glue or sewing. The fingers of the patient are placed in pockets made on the back side of the sensor compartments 14, the cuff 12 is attached to the forearm, for example, using elastic straps, buttons or Velcro. To the middle part of the base can be additionally attached, for example, using special fastening eyes or loops, fastenings on brushes, such as fasteners, Velcro, straps and others, allowing you to choose a comfortable degree of tightening. Compartments for sensors can also be additionally equipped with elastic bands for more confident mounting of sensors on the fingers.

The device for rehabilitation and its foundation works in rehabilitation procedures as follows.

Initially, the device is selected for the right or left hand, then the selection of the device is suitable for the patient size.

Sensors 1 are placed on the distal phalanges of the fingers. Some sensors 1 can be disabled, for example, if there is no reason to rehabilitate the mobility of the joints of some fingers or in the absence of fingers. Sensor 2 is placed in the middle of the hand, and sensor 3 is placed on the forearm closer to the wrist. When carrying out rehabilitation outside the medical institution, it is advisable to use the base 10 for fastening the sensors 1, 2, 3 on the arm, while placing the pad 11 on the outside of the brush, securing the cuff 12 and the pad 11 with, for example, Velcro fasteners, placing the fingers in pockets , fixing them with belts, while the base is chosen the appropriate size.

The device is connected to the USB port of computer 7 and the installed program is launched, with the help of which it displays on the computer monitor the changes in the position of virtual objects in accordance with the movements of the fingers, hands and forearms of the patient. The program mode sets the program mode on the basis of predefined characteristics of the trained movements, depending on the diagnosis, training goals and rehabilitation. Depending on the selected games, the movements of virtual objects on the computer monitor screen correspond to the movements of the parts of the hand during flexion, extension, and rotation in the interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal, wrist, and ray-elbow joints. In a particular case, a virtual hand is displayed on the computer screen, the movements of which correspond to the movements of the patient's hand.

In some games from this set of games, it is shown how one virtual object, in accordance with the position and orientation of the parts of the patient’s hand, captures, holds and sets in motion other virtual objects. In the particular case, it is provided that after bending or rotating, some joints of the hand retain a certain mutual position for some time (for example, they are motionless relative to each other), which makes it possible to train the movements of the selected joints and develop more natural movements. Joint immobility can be achieved by using a palm rest with finger recesses without installing additional sensors in the device.

Training is carried out on one or several games. A mode is possible in which, with a small active range of parts of the hand, when visualizing the movements, small movements of the patient's hand correspond to stronger movements of virtual objects.

Claims (8)

1. The device for rehabilitation, containing n sensors (n natural), made with the possibility of fixing on the upper limb of a person, a tracking unit, a control unit, the input of which is connected by a signal to the tracking unit, and the output is configured to connect to a computer interacting with the unit visualization made with the possibility of displaying the position and orientation in the space of each of the sensors on the computer screen, characterized in that the sensors are arranged to be placed and fixed, respectively, on the distal phalanges of the fingers, on the middle part of the hand, on the forearm, each sensor is a sensor orientation and contains an accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope, while the tracking unit is configured to register and transmit data on the position and orientation in space of each of the sensors. 2. The rehabilitation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tracking unit includes a microcontroller. 3. The rehabilitation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensors and the tracking unit are placed on the base, made in the form of a lining with a contour of the hand lining with pockets for the fingers, connected to the cuff, which is equipped with means for attaching to the forearm. 4. The rehabilitation device according to claim 3, characterized in that the sensors are located in compartments made on each of the parts of the patch corresponding to the fingers of the hand and the middle part of the patch, and the cuff is configured to fix at least one sensor. 5. A device for rehabilitation according to claim 3, characterized in that the control unit is located on the base. 6. The rehabilitation device according to claim 3, characterized in that the tracking unit includes a microcontroller. 7. The rehabilitation device according to claim 5, characterized in that the control unit is mounted on a cuff. 8. The rehabilitation device according to claim 7, characterized in that one sensor and a control unit are placed in a single housing on the cuff.

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