Helping Hand
let us give you a hand
Creative Team
Andrew Oliviera, Computer Science, Georgia Tech
Kristian Kabbabe, Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech
Marie Stauffer, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech
Sana Pournaghshband, Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech
Daniel Jackson, Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech
This project was created for HackGT's first annual HealthTech Hackathon at Georgia Tech.
Inspiration
One of our team members recently broke his hand and will soon have to go through physical therapy to start moving his fingers again. While he has the opportunity to see a physical therapist or afford products that can help in his rehabilitation, we started to think about those less fortunate. What about individuals that can't afford to see a physical therapist or get any sort of aid with their rehabilitation? There are millions of people that need this kind of help so we thought we might be able to lend a hand.
Purpose
The Helping Hand is a mechatronic hand exoskeleton that helps individuals with neurological injuries relearn fine motor skills in the hand. It provides a motor assist to help complete a physical therapy exercise. Over time, as the wearer rebuilds muscle memory and strength, the wearer will need the motor assist less and less and become able to complete the entire exercise independently.
Inexpensively made from common household objects and 3D printed fingers, the Helping Hand is an ideal solution for use in low-income areas or developing countries. The fingers can be custom-printed to any size, and the entire glove is portable enough to be shipped out in a kit for home use. Its components are widely available, making them easy to repair or replace. If the glove were mass-produced, each unit would cost a maximum of $15.
Design Process
Most of our brainstorming revolved around our common interest of making a robotic hand. Since we decided to enter the Global Health track of the HealthTech Hackathon, one of our goals was to make the product as portable and affordable as possible.
Printing the fingers and gauntlet (for mounting the motors and electronics)
Attaching the 3D-printed fingers
Prototyping iteration: We started by using string to hold the strings connecting the fingers to the motor flat. These were too flexible, so we tried using zipties. However, the zipties caused the string to migrate to the side of each finger. To keep the strings fixed in the middle, we used segments of wire with a loop twisted into the middle.
Testing the motion manually before adding the motors
Building the circuit: we used an Arduino Nano to control the motion of 2 DC motors: one to flex the fingers and one to extend them.
CADing the motor spools
Putting it all together: We attached one motor to each side of the glove/gauntlet assembly. The gauntlet was held together with velcro straps, making it fully adjustable. The electronics were mounted on the top side of the gauntlet.
Demoing both the fully functional mechatronic hand exoskeleton and the quick 3D printing process for the fingers
