Design and Analysis of Compact Rigid-flexible Coupled Waist Rehabilitation Robot

doi:10.3901/JME.2024.17.156

Abstract

Abstract: Waist diseases such as lumbar disc herniation are mostly caused by spinal instability. Starting from this pathogenic cause, a new type of waist rehabilitation robot is proposed based on the vertebral curvature theory of traditional Chinese medicine. Firstly, to meet clinical needs of waist rehabilitation, the rigid-flexible coupled structure is adopted, which mainly consists of a flexible curvature fitting mechanism composed of a set of soft actuators and a rigid parallel posture adjustment mechanism based on a 3-PRS parallel mechanism. It can realize the precise adjustment of lumbar curvature. And based on the concept of modularization and miniaturization, the modules are compactly arranged for easy use in family. Secondly, to ensure the smoothness of the fitting curves at the end of the multi-soft actuators, the relationship between the elongation of each soft actuator at different curvatures is calculated. Afterwards, considering the structural characteristics of fiber-embedded pneumatic muscles, the static mathematical model of the soft actuator is established, and the position inverse solution of the 3-PRS parallel mechanism is solved based on the screw theory. Finally, the static characteristics tests of soft actuators and the motion performance experiments of parallel mechanism are conducted. And the rehabilitation performance of the robot is evaluated through the acquisition and analysis of human-machine interaction forces and electromyographic signals. The results show that the waist rehabilitation robot can effectively achieve the predetermined rehabilitation functions. It is a promising waist rehabilitation device with good application prospects.

Key words: waist rehabilitation, rigid-flexible coupled, soft actuator, parallel mechanism, performance analysis

CLC Number:

TP242

ZHENG Siyuan, TIAN Junjie, WANG Lipeng, LIU Shichuang, WANG Hongbo, NIU Jianye. Design and Analysis of Compact Rigid-flexible Coupled Waist Rehabilitation Robot[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2024, 60(17): 156-166.

References

[1] ZHANG B, XU H, WANG J, et al. A narrative review of non-operative treatment, especially traditional Chinese medicine therapy, for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation[J]. Bioscience Trends, 2017, 11(4):406-417.
[2] PETIT A, ROQUELAURE Y. Low back pain, intervertebral disc and occupational diseases[J]. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2015, 21(1):15-19.
[3] 中华医学会骨科学分会脊柱外科学组, 中华医学会骨科学分会骨科康复学组. 腰椎间盘突出症诊疗指南[J]. 中华骨科杂志, 2020, 40(8):477-487. Spine Surgery Group of Chinese Medical Association Orthopedics Branch, Orthopedic Rehabilitation Group of Chinese Medical Association Orthopedics Branch. Guideline for diagnosis and treatment of lumbar disc herniation[J]. Chinese Journal of Orthopaedics, 2020, 40(8):477-487.
[4] 杨青志, 毛碧峰. 腰椎间盘突出症的治疗进展[J]. 实用中医内科杂志, 2023, 4(14):1-7. YANG Qingzhi, MAO Bifeng. Progress in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation[J]. Journal of Practical Traditional Chinese Internal Medicine, 2023, 4(14):1-7.
[5] 章莹, 汪青春. 手法治疗腰间盘突出的生物力学研究[J]. 中国骨伤, 1992, 5(2):2. ZHANG Ying, WANG Qingchun. Biomechanical study on manipulation treatment of lumbar disc herniation[J] China Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, 1992, 5(2):2.
[6] 李戎基, 秦晓君, 温广浩. 牵引治疗腰椎间盘突出症的研究进展[J]. 大众科技, 2022, 24(1):111-114. LI Rongji, QIN Xiaojun, WEN Guanghao. Research progress of traction in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation[J]. Popular Science & Technology, 2022, 24(1):111-114.
[7] TADANO S, TANABE H, ARAI S, et al. Lumbar mechanical traction:A biomechanical assessment of change at the lumbar spine[J]. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2019, 20(1):1-12.
[8] PARK J H, STEGALL P, AGRAWAL S K. Dynamic brace for correction of abnormal postures of the human spine[C]//2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). May 26-30, 2015, Seattle, WA, USA:IEEE, 2015:5922-5927.
[9] GUO X, ZHOU Z, MAI J, et al. Kinematic and kinetic analysis of 3-RPR based robotic lumbar brace[C]//2020 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM). July 6-9, 2020, Boston, MA, USA:IEEE, 2020:1828-1833.
[10] 龙贤亮, 刘朝生, 王理. 腰椎牵引不良反应分析与对策[J]. 颈腰痛杂志, 2014, 35(3):226-228. LONG Xianliang, LIU Chaosheng, WANG Li. Analysis and countermeasures of adverse reactions of lumbar traction[J]. The Journal of Cervicodynia and Lumbodynia, 2014, 35(3):226-228.
[11] CHEN Q, ZI B, SUN Z, et al. Design and development of a new cable-driven parallel robot for waist rehabilitation[J]. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2019, 24(4):1497-1507.
[12] MARTELLI D, KANG J, AGRAWAL S K. A perturbation-based gait training with multidirectional waist-pulls generalizes to split-belt treadmill slips[C]//2018 7th IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (Biorob). August 26-29, 2018, Enschede, Netherlands:IEEE, 2018:7-12.
[13] ZI B, YIN G, ZHANG D. Design and optimization of a hybrid-driven waist rehabilitation robot[J]. Sensors, 2016, 16(12):2121
[14] MAYETIN U, KUCUK S. Design and experimental evaluation of a low cost, portable, 3-DOF wrist rehabilitation robot with high physical human-robot interaction[J]. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 2022, 106(3):65.
[15] TIAN J, WANG H, WANG L, et al. Compact waist rehabilitation robot inspired by mckenzie therapy:Design, analysis and validation[J]. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2023, 8(6):3198-3205.
[16] 姚建涛, 李海利, 曹开彬, 等. 柔性可穿戴腕部动力手套的设计与分析[J]. 机械工程学报, 2018, 54(19):1-9. YAO Jiantao, LI Haili, CAO Kaibin, et al. Design and analysis of flexible wearable wrist power gloves[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2018, 54(19):1-9.
[17] CHEN X, ZHANG S, CAO K, et al. Development of a wearable upper limb rehabilitation robot based on reinforced soft pneumatic actuators[J]. Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2022, 35(1):83.
[18] 陈琰东, 谭方, 尹平, 等. 中药腰垫联合推拿治疗腰痛并腰椎曲度改变的临床研究[J]. 云南中医中药杂志, 2020, 41(4):63-66. CHEN Yandong, TAN Fang, YIN Ping, et al. Clinical study on traditional Chinese medicine lumbar pad combined with massage in the treatment of low back pain and lumbar curvature change[J]. Yunnan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Materia Medica, 2020, 41(4):63-66.
[19] 陈晓荣, 秦少华, 周林江, 等. 腰椎间盘突出症突出物自然吸收与腰椎曲度的相关性研究[J]. 安徽医药, 2022, 26(9):1839-1842. CHEN Xiaorong, QIN Shaohua, ZHOU Linjiang, et al. Study on the correlation between natural absorption of lumbar disc herniation and lumbar curvature[J]. Anhui Medical and Pharmaceutical Journal, 2022, 26(9):1839-1842
[20] 韦以宗. 中国整脊学[M]. 北京:人民卫生出版社, 2012. WEI Yizong. Spinal orthopedics in Chinese medicine[J]. Beijing:People's Medical Publishing House, 2021.
[21] BISHOP-MOSER J, KOTA S. Towards snake-like soft robots:Design of fluidic fiber-reinforced elastomeric helical manipulators[C]//IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots & Systems. November 3-7, 2013, Tokyo, Japan:IEEE, 2013:5021-5026