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Yu JT, Huang YC, Chen CS. Research and Development of a 3D-Printed Dynamic Finger Flexion Orthosis for Finger Extension Stiffness-A Preliminary Study. Bioengineering (Basel) 2024; 11:339. [PMID: 38671761 PMCID: PMC11048443 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11040339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Finger extension stiffness is a common post-traumatic complication that results in the hand's functional impairment. In clinical practice, a dynamic splint enables the patient to stretch the affected finger independently. However, current dynamic splints have drawbacks, such as limited stretching efficacy, and interfere with the hand's functional activities. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a dynamic finger flexion orthosis capable of stretching each finger joint using additive manufacturing (AM) technology, thereby enabling hand functional activity, and analyze the clinical improvement in the range of motion (ROM). One subject with a hand fracture was recruited while undergoing a 7-week home-based rehabilitation program for the orthosis. The outcome measurements included the total active motion (TAM), the tip-to-finger distance (TPD), and the score on the Disability of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire. The results show that the TAM of the participant's fingers increased by 72.7 degrees on average, the TPD decreased by 3.5 cm on average, and the DASH score decreased to 9.5 points. The 7-week home-based rehabilitation program for the orthosis resulted in a 53.6% increase in the TAM on average. The developed orthosis improved hand function and enabled a more complete ROM in finger flexion.
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Affiliation(s)
- June-Tzu Yu
- Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
| | - Yi-Chao Huang
- Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Department of Orthopaedics, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Sheng Chen
- Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan;
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Demeco A, Foresti R, Frizziero A, Daracchi N, Renzi F, Rovellini M, Salerno A, Martini C, Pelizzari L, Costantino C. The Upper Limb Orthosis in the Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients: The Role of 3D Printing. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:1256. [PMID: 38002380 PMCID: PMC10669460 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10111256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Stroke represents the third cause of long-term disability in the world. About 80% of stroke patients have an impairment of bio-motor functions and over half fail to regain arm functionality, resulting in motor movement control disorder with serious loss in terms of social independence. Therefore, rehabilitation plays a key role in the reduction of patient disabilities, and 3D printing (3DP) has showed interesting improvements in related fields, thanks to the possibility to produce customized, eco-sustainable and cost-effective orthoses. This study investigated the clinical use of 3DP orthosis in rehabilitation compared to the traditional ones, focusing on the correlation between 3DP technology, therapy and outcomes. We screened 138 articles from PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, selecting the 10 articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria, which were subsequently examined for the systematic review. The results showed that 3DP provides substantial advantages in terms of upper limb orthosis designed on the patient's needs. Moreover, seven research activities used biodegradable/recyclable materials, underlining the great potential of validated 3DP solutions in a clinical rehabilitation setting. The aim of this study was to highlight how 3DP could overcome the limitations of standard medical devices in order to support clinicians, bioengineers and innovation managers during the implementation of Healthcare 4.0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Demeco
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Ruben Foresti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
- Center of Excellence for Toxicological Research (CERT), University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy
- Italian National Research Council, Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), 43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Antonio Frizziero
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Nicola Daracchi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Francesco Renzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Margherita Rovellini
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Antonello Salerno
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Chiara Martini
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
| | - Laura Pelizzari
- AUSL Piacenza, Neurorehabilitation and Spinal Unit, Department of Rehabilitative Medicine, 29121 Piacenza, Italy;
| | - Cosimo Costantino
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy; (A.F.); (N.D.); (F.R.); (M.R.); (A.S.); (C.M.); (C.C.)
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Muthu P, Tan Y, Latha S, Dhanalakshmi S, Lai KW, Wu X. Discernment on assistive technology for the care and support requirements of older adults and differently-abled individuals. Front Public Health 2023; 10:1030656. [PMID: 36699937 PMCID: PMC9869388 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1030656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Assistive technology for the differently abled and older adults has made remarkable achievements in providing rehabilitative, adaptive, and assistive devices. It provides huge assistance for people with physical impairments to lead a better self-reliant daily life, in terms of mobility, education, rehabilitation, etc. This technology ranges from simple hand-held devices to complex robotic accessories which promote the individual's independence. This study aimed at identifying the assistance required by differently-abled individuals, and the solutions proposed by different researchers, and reviewed their merits and demerits. It provides a detailed discussion on the state of art assistive technologies, their applications, challenges, types, and their usage for rehabilitation. The study also identifies different unexplored research areas related to assistive technology that can improve the daily life of individuals and advance the field. Despite their high usage, assistive technologies have some limitations which have been briefly described in the study. This review, therefore, can help understand the utilization, and pros and cons of assistive devices in rehabilitation engineering and assistive technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. Muthu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
| | - Yongqi Tan
- The 71st Group Military Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - S. Latha
- Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
| | - Samiappan Dhanalakshmi
- Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India,*Correspondence: Samiappan Dhanalakshmi ✉
| | - Khin Wee Lai
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,Khin Wee Lai ✉
| | - Xiang Wu
- School of Medical Information Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China,Xiang Wu ✉
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Cui Y, Cheng S, Chen X, Xu G, Ma N, Li H, Zhang H, Li Z. Advances in the clinical application of orthotic devices for stroke and spinal cord injury since 2013. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1108320. [PMID: 36873455 PMCID: PMC9981677 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1108320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Stroke and spinal cord injury are common neurological disorders that can cause various dysfunctions. Motor dysfunction is a common dysfunction that easily leads to complications such as joint stiffness and muscle contracture and markedly impairs the daily living activities and long-term prognosis of patients. Orthotic devices can prevent or compensate for motor dysfunctions. Using orthotic devices early can help prevent and correct deformities and treat muscle and joint problems. An orthotic device is also an effective rehabilitation tool for improving motor function and compensatory abilities. In this study, we reviewed the epidemiological characteristics of stroke and spinal cord injury, provided the therapeutic effect and recent advances in the application of conventional and new types of orthotic devices used in stroke and spinal cord injury in different joints of the upper and lower limbs, identified the shortcomings with these orthotics, and suggested directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinxing Cui
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Shihuan Cheng
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Xiaowei Chen
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Guoxing Xu
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Ningyi Ma
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - He Li
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hong Zhang
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Zhenlan Li
- Rehabilitation Medicine Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
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