A Soft Fabric-based Shrink-to-fit Pneumatic Sleeve for Comfortable Limb Assistance

Richard Suphapol Diteesawat; Chiu Mun S Hoh; Emanuele Pulvirenti; Nahian Rahman; Leah Morris; Ailie Turton; Mary Cramp; Jonathan M Rossiter

doi:10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981265

A Soft Fabric-based Shrink-to-fit Pneumatic Sleeve for Comfortable Limb Assistance

Richard Suphapol Diteesawat, Chiu Mun S Hoh, Emanuele Pulvirenti, Nahian Rahman, Leah Morris, Ailie Turton, Mary Cramp, Jonathan M Rossiter

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

5 Citations (Scopus)

169 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Upper limb impairments and weakness are com- mon post-stroke and with advanced aging. Rigid exoskeletons have been developed as a potential solution, but have had limited impact. In addition to user concerns about safety, their weight and appearance, the rigid attachment and typical anchoring methods can result in skin damage. In this paper, we present a soft, fabric-based pneumatic sleeve, which can shrink from a loose fit to a tight fit in order to anchor to the limbs temporarily, thereby enabling the application of mechanical assistance only when needed. The sleeve is comfortable, ergonomic and can be embedded unobtrusively with clothing. A mathematical model is built to simulate and design sleeves with different geometric parameters. The best sleeve was capable of generating a friction force of 98 N on the limb when inflated to 25 kPa. This sleeve was used to create a wearable assistive device, integrated with a cable-driven actuator. This device was able to lift a 1.44 kg forearm rig up to 95 degree at low pressure of 20 kPa. The device was tested with six healthy participants, in terms of fit, comfort and assistive functionality. The average acceptable sleeve pressure was found to be 33±4.7 kPa. All participants liked the appearance of the sleeve, with a high average perceived assistance score of 7.33±1.6 (out of 10). The shrink-to-fit sleeve is expected to significantly increase the development and adoption of soft robotic assistive devices and emerging powered clothing.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2022
Pages	9766-9773
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Electronic)	9781665479271
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981265
Publication status	Published - 27 Oct 2023

Publication series

Name	IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
Volume	2022-October
ISSN (Print)	2153-0858
ISSN (Electronic)	2153-0866

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
*This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through grants EP/S026096/1. 1RSD, SH, EP, NR and JR are with Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, and Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), Bristol, UK [email protected] 2LM, AT and MC are with School of Health and Social Wellbeing, University of the West of England, and BRL, Bristol, UK

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 IEEE.

Keywords

pneumatic artificial muscle
wearable technologies
assistance

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Diteesawat, R. S., Hoh, C. M. S., Pulvirenti, E., Rahman, N., Morris, L., Turton, A., Cramp, M., & Rossiter, J. M. (2023). A Soft Fabric-based Shrink-to-fit Pneumatic Sleeve for Comfortable Limb Assistance. In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2022 (pp. 9766-9773). (IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems; Vol. 2022-October). https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981265

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abstract = "Upper limb impairments and weakness are com- mon post-stroke and with advanced aging. Rigid exoskeletons have been developed as a potential solution, but have had limited impact. In addition to user concerns about safety, their weight and appearance, the rigid attachment and typical anchoring methods can result in skin damage. In this paper, we present a soft, fabric-based pneumatic sleeve, which can shrink from a loose fit to a tight fit in order to anchor to the limbs temporarily, thereby enabling the application of mechanical assistance only when needed. The sleeve is comfortable, ergonomic and can be embedded unobtrusively with clothing. A mathematical model is built to simulate and design sleeves with different geometric parameters. The best sleeve was capable of generating a friction force of 98 N on the limb when inflated to 25 kPa. This sleeve was used to create a wearable assistive device, integrated with a cable-driven actuator. This device was able to lift a 1.44 kg forearm rig up to 95 degree at low pressure of 20 kPa. The device was tested with six healthy participants, in terms of fit, comfort and assistive functionality. The average acceptable sleeve pressure was found to be 33±4.7 kPa. All participants liked the appearance of the sleeve, with a high average perceived assistance score of 7.33±1.6 (out of 10). The shrink-to-fit sleeve is expected to significantly increase the development and adoption of soft robotic assistive devices and emerging powered clothing.",

keywords = "pneumatic artificial muscle, wearable technologies, assistance",

author = "Diteesawat, {Richard Suphapol} and Hoh, {Chiu Mun S} and Emanuele Pulvirenti and Nahian Rahman and Leah Morris and Ailie Turton and Mary Cramp and Rossiter, {Jonathan M}",

note = "Funding Information: *This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through grants EP/S026096/1. 1RSD, SH, EP, NR and JR are with Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, and Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), Bristol, UK [email protected] 2LM, AT and MC are with School of Health and Social Wellbeing, University of the West of England, and BRL, Bristol, UK Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 IEEE.",

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Diteesawat, RS , Hoh, CMS , Pulvirenti, E , Rahman, N, Morris, L, Turton, A, Cramp, M & Rossiter, JM 2023, A Soft Fabric-based Shrink-to-fit Pneumatic Sleeve for Comfortable Limb Assistance. in IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2022. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, vol. 2022-October, pp. 9766-9773. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981265

A Soft Fabric-based Shrink-to-fit Pneumatic Sleeve for Comfortable Limb Assistance. / Diteesawat, Richard Suphapol ; Hoh, Chiu Mun S ; Pulvirenti, Emanuele et al.
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2022. 2023. p. 9766-9773 (IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems; Vol. 2022-October).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

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AU - Diteesawat, Richard Suphapol

AU - Hoh, Chiu Mun S

AU - Pulvirenti, Emanuele

AU - Rahman, Nahian

AU - Morris, Leah

AU - Turton, Ailie

AU - Cramp, Mary

AU - Rossiter, Jonathan M

N1 - Funding Information: *This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through grants EP/S026096/1. 1RSD, SH, EP, NR and JR are with Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, and Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), Bristol, UK [email protected] 2LM, AT and MC are with School of Health and Social Wellbeing, University of the West of England, and BRL, Bristol, UK Publisher Copyright: © 2022 IEEE.

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N2 - Upper limb impairments and weakness are com- mon post-stroke and with advanced aging. Rigid exoskeletons have been developed as a potential solution, but have had limited impact. In addition to user concerns about safety, their weight and appearance, the rigid attachment and typical anchoring methods can result in skin damage. In this paper, we present a soft, fabric-based pneumatic sleeve, which can shrink from a loose fit to a tight fit in order to anchor to the limbs temporarily, thereby enabling the application of mechanical assistance only when needed. The sleeve is comfortable, ergonomic and can be embedded unobtrusively with clothing. A mathematical model is built to simulate and design sleeves with different geometric parameters. The best sleeve was capable of generating a friction force of 98 N on the limb when inflated to 25 kPa. This sleeve was used to create a wearable assistive device, integrated with a cable-driven actuator. This device was able to lift a 1.44 kg forearm rig up to 95 degree at low pressure of 20 kPa. The device was tested with six healthy participants, in terms of fit, comfort and assistive functionality. The average acceptable sleeve pressure was found to be 33±4.7 kPa. All participants liked the appearance of the sleeve, with a high average perceived assistance score of 7.33±1.6 (out of 10). The shrink-to-fit sleeve is expected to significantly increase the development and adoption of soft robotic assistive devices and emerging powered clothing.

AB - Upper limb impairments and weakness are com- mon post-stroke and with advanced aging. Rigid exoskeletons have been developed as a potential solution, but have had limited impact. In addition to user concerns about safety, their weight and appearance, the rigid attachment and typical anchoring methods can result in skin damage. In this paper, we present a soft, fabric-based pneumatic sleeve, which can shrink from a loose fit to a tight fit in order to anchor to the limbs temporarily, thereby enabling the application of mechanical assistance only when needed. The sleeve is comfortable, ergonomic and can be embedded unobtrusively with clothing. A mathematical model is built to simulate and design sleeves with different geometric parameters. The best sleeve was capable of generating a friction force of 98 N on the limb when inflated to 25 kPa. This sleeve was used to create a wearable assistive device, integrated with a cable-driven actuator. This device was able to lift a 1.44 kg forearm rig up to 95 degree at low pressure of 20 kPa. The device was tested with six healthy participants, in terms of fit, comfort and assistive functionality. The average acceptable sleeve pressure was found to be 33±4.7 kPa. All participants liked the appearance of the sleeve, with a high average perceived assistance score of 7.33±1.6 (out of 10). The shrink-to-fit sleeve is expected to significantly increase the development and adoption of soft robotic assistive devices and emerging powered clothing.

KW - pneumatic artificial muscle

KW - wearable technologies

KW - assistance

U2 - 10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981265

DO - 10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981265

M3 - Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

T3 - IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems

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ER -

A Soft Fabric-based Shrink-to-fit Pneumatic Sleeve for Comfortable Limb Assistance

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