Students belonging to the McGill Mechanical Engineering have designed and created a glove equipped with a Biomedical Sensor.
The glove can help recover hand movements in stroke patients. Professor Rosaire Mongrain helped the undergraduate students to conduct the research. Stroke patients, who suffer from moderate-to-severe physical impairments, can use the glove to play video-games and thus improve the flexibility of their hand muscles.
The sensor-enabled glove is specifically developed to allow patients to exercise in the privacy of their own homes. It eliminates the need for any external supervision and allows physicians to check their patients’ progress from a remote location. The glove thus aids in reducing hospital visits and proves to be a cost-effective technique.
The software integrated in the device can be used to produce three-dimensional data about the patient’s level of progress on a display screen. This data will be sent to the treating physician. The glove uses a number of Inertial Measurement Units to detect the movements of the palm, the index finger and the wrist.
The students had developed the glove for Jintronix, a start-up company. The company has submitted the project to Grand Challenges Canada, a not-for-profit firm that aims to enhance the health of people in developing countries. The firm hopes to get financial support for further advancement.
Source: http://www.mcgill.ca