Characterization of a Soft Hand Exoskeleton through a Sensorized Hand Phantom

This study focuses on characterization of a soft hand exoskeleton by development of a dedicated, sensorized hand phantom. The hand exoskeleton is developed in the shape of a soft, tendon-driven actuated glove, designed for assisting finger movements, specifically targeting spinal cord injury patients. Due to the flexible and soft kinematic structure, bench-test characterization is challenging without the involvement of a human hand. Rigid hand phantoms do not allow to appreciate compliance of the soft structure of the glove together with the soft tissues of the hand. Moreover, the particular tendon routing of the device is designed to adapt clenching forces around the hand depending on the exerted grasping force. To this purpose we developed a realistic, sensorized hand phantom mimicking human anatomy, in order to obtain repeatable bench-test conditions. In this work we provide an overiview and first characterization of the hand phantom, evaluating its functionality and implementation together with the developed soft hand exoskeleton.