THE REQUIREMENTS:
Modern therapy concepts for maintaining and restoring motor skills in neurological diseases and injuries require individually adapted approaches.
Hocoma AG specializes in robotic products in the medical industry and is a global leader in the development and manufacture of automated therapy devices for the rehabilitation of neurological movement disorders.
As part of the development of the Armeo®Spring, an arm and hand therapy device for stroke patients, reliable, accurate and individually tunable displacement and angle sensors with a small footprint were needed to implement the system.
THE IMPLEMENTATION:
With Sensofoil® , the ideal sensor for implementing the project was found. Due to its flat design, the foil potentiometer from Hoffmann + Krippner offers the best conditions for use under limited space conditions. Due to the potentiometric and thus absolute measuring system, Sensofoil also offers the possibility of reliable signal output. Thus, the system does not require a measurement restart after any power failure. In the further development stages, the sensor was precisely adapted to the customer’s geometry requirements and optimized accordingly.
As a special design feature, the semicircular sensor can be connected on both sides. Thanks to these potentiometer connection options, Sensofoil® can be used on both the right and left sides and thus contributes directly to cost savings in terms of reduced spare parts supply.
THE OUTCOME:
The Armeo® therapy concept developed by Hocoma enables a large number of playful movement exercises in a virtual environment. In this process, a predefined exercise sequence corresponding to everyday movements is made visible to the patient on the screen. The functional task is therefore clearly indicated. Immediate performance feedback is also indicated. With the help of this therapy, even particularly severely affected patients can exercise independently without the constant presence of a therapist, thus realizing their full rehabilitation potential.
The use of Sensofoil® foil potentiometers from Hoffmann + Krippner provides reliable and accurate measurement results, which are indispensable for task-specific and computer-assisted movement therapy.