부산대학교 도서관

Upper limb recovery following a stroke is generally quite poor. Upper limb therapy at clinic is usually limited due to lack of time and resources to accommodate the growing stroke population. Consequently, a small percentage of therapy is spent on improving upper limb movement and is generally limited to range of motion and stretching exercises. As a result, upper limb exercises are prescribed to stroke survivors to perform at home. Subsequently, the potential to facilitate self-practice at home has been realized leading to the development of numerous rehabilitative and assistive devices for the upper limb. However, commercially available devices do not tend to be adopted for home use due to practical and economic factors. This thesis details the design, development, and evaluation of a weight support device for home-based upper limb rehabilitation, driven through a user-designed approach. This was achieved through engaging with stakeholders (i.e. stroke survivors, therapists) throughout the design process via informal interviews, focus groups, and prototype testing, ensuring that their desired requirements were incorporated into the final device. From this process, a low-cost, portable, weight support device was manufactured with supports for both the upper arm and forearm. Furthermore, an external feedback system was created to provide real-time feedback to the user to help motivate and encourage them to engage in independent practice at home with the weight support device. Testing the device and feedback system with participants in their home environment showed that it was acceptable for home use, suggesting that it could be feasible for aiding with the facilitation of self-practice. Further refinements towards range of motion and portability of the device will be required as desired by participants in addition to providing a diverse range of feedback applications to engage with.