Sensory-Motor Hand Impairment

NCCR Grassroot Project - SENSIBLE-EXO

Restoring motor and SENSory functIons with a wearaBLE sensorized hand EXOskeleton (SENSIBLE-EXO) is a project founded by the National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR) in collaboration between the Rehabilitation Engineering Lab and the Neuroengineering Lab of ETH Zurich.

The project aims to combine a hand wearable exoskeleton (Tenoexo) with sensory feedback based on transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), promising enhanced grasp support for people with sensorimotor hand impairment.

The Sensible Exo aims to achieve an increased grasping force and range of motion of the fingers through functional electrical stimulation of the finger muscles, supporting the grasping of bigger and heavier objects. Furthermore, the Sensible Exo aims to provide the user with a sensory feedback, informing about the object- hand interaction. We will explore the additional benefit of the electrical n stimulation in these tasks, i.e., how well the user can perform standardized tasks with the assistance of the Sensible Exo (exoskeleton with electrical stimulation) compared to with the assistance of the tenoexo (only exoskeleton).