Feasibility Test of Range of Motion Exercises for Ankle Joints Rehabilitation Using Pneumatic Soft Actuators

Abstract

Patients with movement disabilities have been increasing steadily by accidents and diseases. If the condition does not improve, contractures may occur in some joints and muscles. The contractures often tend to occur in ankle joints which are the most important body parts for everyday living. Thus it is important to start rehabilitation therapy shortly after an accident and a disease. The purpose of this study is to develop a rehabilitation device for ankle joints. In our previous study, we proposed a pneumatic actuator with soft material. The actuator has many advantages such as low mass, flexibility, safety, and user-friendliness. Therefore, we focused on the actuator as a drive source of the rehabilitation equipment and the actuator used for the range of motion (ROM) exercises. We measured the ROM needed for ankle joint. As the result, we confirmed that the actuator is able to provide several ROM exercises.