Year
2024
Mode
Team
Category
Medical Devices
Product Duration
1 Month
Losing hand function means losing independence.
For stroke survivors, everyday actions like holding a spoon or tying shoelaces become frustrating challenges. This project set out to design an active-assist soft exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation, but more importantly, to restore confidence in daily life. The goal was not just to help users move again, but to help them feel capable again.
The question formed: how can assistive technology feel less like a machine, and more like a natural extension of the body?
To understand this, me and my team stepped into the world of rehabilitation. We studied how strokes affect motor function and observed how recovery unfolds over time—from hospital care to home-based therapy.
Conversations with users, therapists, and caregivers revealed a common pattern: recovery is slow, repetitive, and often abandoned midway. Existing solutions ranged from highly advanced but expensive devices to simpler tools that lacked effectiveness.
More importantly, we noticed how people interacted with their hands post rehab—carefully and hesitantly—highlighting the need for a solution that supports both movement and confidence.
As the research unfolded, one challenge became clear—it wasn’t just about movement, it was about usability and comfort. Many devices failed not because they didn’t work, but because they were uncomfortable, bulky, or difficult to wear without help.
This created dependency instead of independence. Ergonomics became central to the problem. The device needed to move with the hand, not against it. It needed to feel light, flexible, and intuitive.
More than a rehabilitation tool, it had to become something users would willingly use every day—something that fits naturally into their routine and environment.
This shifted our direction toward designing not a machine, but a wearable system.
Early ideas explored how assistance could be embedded into a glove-like form that follows the anatomy of the hand. We experimented with different mechanisms—cables, pneumatics, and emerging materials—each offering a different balance of control, comfort, and complexity.
Gradually, the idea of a soft, fabric-based actuator emerged as the most promising direction. At the same time, we began rethinking the glove itself—how it wraps, how it fits, and most importantly, how easily a user can wear it independently.
From here, the process became highly iterative. Multiple glove designs were explored to solve one key problem: how do you make something supportive without making it restrictive?
The form was refined to follow natural hand movements while minimizing pressure points and friction. Special attention was given to easy donning and doffing, ensuring users could wear the device without assistance.
The soft actuator system was integrated to provide responsive movement, supported by EMG sensors that detect user intent. Through CAD modeling and repeated prototyping, the design evolved into a system that balances function, comfort, and usability.
The result is ABLE—a soft, wearable hand exoskeleton designed to support recovery through everyday use.
The glove allows users to regain movement while remaining comfortable and easy to wear, encouraging consistent interaction. Connected to a compact control unit, it responds to the user’s intent and assists natural motion.
More than a rehabilitation device, ABLE becomes part of the user’s routine—helping them perform simple tasks, rebuild confidence, and gradually regain independence. It transforms recovery from a clinical process into a personal, empowering experience.
We successfully published a Springer Research Paper on this innovation as well.
