Title
A vacuum-powered artificial muscle designed for infant rehabilitation
Date Issued
01 January 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Publisher(s)
MDPI AG
Abstract
The majority of soft pneumatic actuators for rehabilitation exercises have been designed for adult users. Specifically, there is a paucity of soft rehabilitative devices designed for infants with upper and lower limb motor disabilities. We present a low-profile vacuum-powered artificial muscle (LP-VPAM) with dimensions suitable for infants. The actuator produced a maximum force of 26 N at vacuum pressures of −40 kPa. When implemented in an experimental model of an infant leg in an antagonistic-agonist configuration to measure resultant knee flexion, the actuator generated knee flexion angles of 43◦ and 61◦ in the prone and side-lying position, respectively.
Volume
12
Issue
8
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Pediatría
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85113367315
Source
Micromachines
ISSN of the container
2072666X
Sponsor(s)
Funding: This research was funded by MISTI-MIT and a UTEC Research Department seed fund. This work was also supported by FONDECYT Peru under contract N◦ 105-2021-FONDECYT Proyectos de Investigación Aplicada y Desarrollo Tecnológico.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus