Upper limb tremor suppression in ADL via an orthosis incorporating a controllable double viscous beam actuator

Abstract

Neuromuscular disorders affect millions of people worldwide. Upper limb tremor is a common symptom, and due to its complex aetiology it is difficult to compensate for except, in particular cases by surgical intervention or drug therapy. Wearable devices that mechanically compensate for limb tremor could benefit a considerable number of patients, but the technology to assist suffers in this way is under-developed. In this paper we propose an innovative orthosis that can dynamically suppress pathological tremor, by applying viscous damping to the affected limb in a controlled manner. The orthosis design utilises a new actuator design based on magneto-rheological fluids that efficiently deliver damping action in response to the instantaneous tremor frequency and amplitude.