• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.473-480
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• 2013

This paper describes the design of a rectangular-type four-finger rehabilitation robot for flexibility rehabilitation of stroke patients' fingers and other patient's paralyzed fingers. The four-finger rehabilitation robot is composed of a body and each finger rehabilitation robot instrument. The four-finger rehabilitation robot could exercise four fingers (forefinger, middle finger ring finger and little finger) of patient for their rehabilitation. The four-finger rehabilitation robot instruments move according to the trace which spread out the patient's fingers and then turn them inward for the fingers' flexibility, while at the same time performing the force control with the reference forces for fingers' safety, simultaneously. A control characteristic test of the developed rectangular-type four-finger rehabilitation robot was carried out, and the results confirmed that the robot could be used for the flexibility rehabilitation exercise for the fingers of normal person and patients.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.357-361
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• 2014

This paper describes the evaluation of the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapy for patients with finger paralysis based on a two-finger force measurement system (TFFMS). The paralyzed fingers can be recovered through rehabilitation therapies. The finger pressing force of the patients can be measured utilizing the TFFMS previously developed by the author [7]. The TFFMS, however, has not been fully adopted as a standard method for evaluating the therapy owing to the lack of a standard protocol. The pressing force of healthy volunteers and patients is analyzed with the TFFMS to explore the feasibility of the TFFMS as an evaluation device. The test confirms that the established standard protocol is useful to quantitatively assess the progress of finger rehabilitation therapy.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.516-523
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• 2012

Stroke patients should exercise for the rehabilitation of their fingers, because they can't use their hand and fingers. The moving direction of thumb of five fingers is different that of four fingers (force finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger). The thumb rehabilitation robot for rehabilitation exercise must be included a force control system, because robot can injure thumb by applying too much force. In this paper, the rectangular-type thumb rehabilitation robot was developed for stroke patient's thumb rehabilitation exercise of the flexibility rehabilitation exercise. The characteristic test of the developed rectangular-type thumb rehabilitation robot was carried out with normal men in their twenties. As a result, it is thought that the robot can be used for the flexibility rehabilitation exercise of stroke patient's thumb.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.127-134
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• 2012

Stroke patients must do the rehabilitation exercise to recover their fingers' function using a rehabilitation robot. But the rehabilitation robots mostly have not the force sensors to control the applied force to each finger. Thus, in this paper, the development of a force sensor for thumb rehabilitation robot and four two-axis force sensors for four-finger rehabilitation robot were developed. The force sensor and four two-axis force sensors could be used to measure the applied force to each finger, and the forces could be used to control the applied forces to each sensor in rehabilitation exercise using in the rehabilitation robot. The developed sensors have non-linearlity error of less than 0.05 %, repeatability error of less than 0.03 %, and the interference error of two-axis force sensor is less than 0.2 %.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.155-161
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• 2017

This paper presents a new nonmechanical rehabilitation system driven by magnetic force. Typically, finger rehabilitation mechanisms are complex mechanical systems. The proposed method allows wireless operation, a simple configuration, and easy installation on the hand for active actuation by magnetic force. The system consists of a driving coil, driving magnets (M1), and auxiliary magnets (M2 and M3), respectively, at the finger, palm, and the center of coil. The magnets and the driving coil produce three magnetic forces for an active motions of the finger. During active actuations, magnetic attractive forces between M1 and M2 or between M1 and M3 enhance the flexion/extension motions. The proposed system simply improves the extension motion of the finger using a magnetic system. In this system, the maximum force and angular variation of the extension motion were 0.438 N and $49^{\circ}$, respectively. We analyzed the magnetic interaction in the system and verified finger's active actuation.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 2012

This paper describes the control of the hand fixing system attached to the finger rehabilitation robot for the rehabilitation exercise of patient's fingers. The finger rehabilitation robot is used to exercise the finger rehabilitation, and a patient's hand is safely fixed using the hand fixing system. In this paper, the hand fixing system was controlled with PD gains to fix a palm of the hand, and the characteristic test for the hand fixing system was carried out to sense the fixed hand movement of the front and the rear, that of the left and the right, and that of the upper. It is thought that the hand fixing system could safely fix the hand, and the movement of the fixed hand could be perceived using the five-axis force/moment sensor attached to the hand fixing system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.753-761
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• 2012

This paper describes development of a hand and finger fixing system for the rehabilitation exercise of patient's fingers. In order to exercise the finger rehabilitation using a finger rehabilitation robot, a patient's hand or fingers are fixed safely. In this paper, The hand and fingers fixing system can safely fix stroke patient's hand and fingers by pressing with force control system. The characteristic test of the system was carried out. It is thought that the system could be used for fixing their fingers in stroke patient's finger rehabilitation exercise.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.709-716
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• 2013

Rehabilitation of finger patients requires that the patients exercise their hands and fingers for proper functioning to return. A thumb rehabilitation robot, equipped with a two-axis force sensor, can prevent injury to the thumb by monitoring the applied pulling force. In this paper, we describe a link-type thumb rehabilitation robot designed for patients' thumb rehabilitation exercise. Tests of the manufactured link-type thumb rehabilitation robot were performed on normal male patients. Our results show that the robot can be used for flexibility and muscle-strength rehabilitation exercises for a patient's thumb.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.729-735
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• 2014

This paper presents the judgment method of the rehabilitation extent using a spherical type digital finger force measuring system (SDFFMS). Stroke patients can't use their fingers because of the paralysis of their fingers, but they can recover with rehabilitative training. The SDFFMS has been already developed by Kim (Author of this paper), and the finger grasping forces of normal people and stroke patients could be measured using it. But the SDFFMS could be not used to judge the extent of their rehabilitation, because the judgment method using it is not yet developed. In this paper, the characteristics tests for the grasping forces of normal persons and stroke patients were performed using the SDFFMS, and the judgment method of the rehabilitation extent was developed using the results. The tests confirm that the rehabilitation extent of stroke patients could be judged using the developed judgment method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.213-214
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• 2012