Optimal Design of a Five-Bar Mechanism Dedicated to Assisting in the Fingers Flexion-Extension Movement

The recovery after a stroke requires appropriate rehabilitation processes. Recovering hand functionality is essential for the reintegration of the patient into his habitual life. This article presents an innovative finger rehabilitation device capable of producing the real flexion-extension trajectory. The proposed device architecture is based on a five-bar mechanism. An optimal design problem solved using the gradient optimization method provides the geometric parameters for the five-bar mechanism.