Prototype System For Enhancing Hand Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Exercises Exploiting sEMG Signals And Visual Feedback

The rehabilitation process, after injuries to the wrist or forearm, still consists of repetitive exercises, usually assigned by the therapist together with a poorly detailed explanation on their correct execution. In this way, the patients are frequently brought afar from feeling consistently motivated to complete these exercises. Technology, instead, is developing fast and all kinds of patients have access to smartphones or computers, nowadays. Physical exercise and activities are now simple to monitor, through health mobile applications and wearable devices, among other solutions. On these grounds, the RehTracker prototype was built to provide a technological help to the patient, reinforcing the motivation component during their rehabilitation process by taking advantage of visual feedback and amplifying the patient's autonomy. It was developed following an iterative process, testing and integrationing with a mobile app and website, developed concurrently as an interacting ecosystem that provides instant feedback and long-term statistics. Feedback was collected from physiotherapists to hone the prototype's usability. Then, a user testing phase followed to address the point of view of the hypothetical patient and gather additional observations. Feedback and testing were performed in Denmark, as the chosen case study. To increase visual feedback, a robotics visualisation mode was designed and added to provide a real-time representation of the contraction exercises, again increasing the motivational gain. Based on the theory suggestions and the therapists' feedback, the author suggests that such a technological solution can be beneficial to the patients undergoing rehabilitation - with an emphasis on wrist/forearm injuries - by increasing their motivation, as it is a key factor in their adherence to the rehabilitation. Patient's consistency is beneficial both for preventing reoccurring injuries and for saving social welfare resources.