earticle

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Background/Objectives: This paper proposes a dual mode feedback-controlled cycling system for children with spastic cerebral palsy to rehabilitate upper extremities. Repetitive upper limb exercise in this therapy aims to both reduce and analyze the abnormal torque patterns of arm movements in three- dimensional space. Methods/Statistical analysis: We designed an exercycle robot which consists of a BLDC motor, a torque sensor, a bevel gear and bearings. Mechanical structures are customized for children of age between 7~13 years old and induces reaching and pulling task in a symmetric circulation. The shafts and external frames were designed and printed using 3D printer. While the child performs active/passive exercise, angular position, angular velocity, and relative torque of the pedal shaft are measured and displayed in real time. Findings: Experiment was designed to observe the features of a cerebral palsy child’s exercise. Two children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy participated in the experiment and conducted an active exercise at normal speed for 3 sets, 15 seconds for each. As the pedal reached 90 degrees and 270 degrees, the subject showed minimum torque, in which the child showed difficulty in the pulling task of the cycle. The passive exercise assisted the child to maintain a relatively constant torque while visually observing the movement patterns. Using two types of exercise enabled the child to overcome the abnormal torque measured in the active data by performing the passive exercise. Thus, this system has advantage not only in allowing the child to perform the difficult task, which may contribute in improving the muscle strength and endurance and reducing the spasticity but also provide customizable system according to the child’s motion characteristic. Improvements/Applications: Further study is needed to observe how passive exercise influences the movement characteristics of an active motion and how customized experiment settings can optimize the effect of pediatric rehabilitation for spastic cerebral palsy.