Upper Limb Tremor Suppression Through Viscous Loading - Design, Implementation and Clinical Validation

Upper Limb Tremor Suppression Through Viscous Loading

  Tremor is a potentially disabling condition that affects millions of people worldwide. When medication or surgery is not effective, compensation of such symptoms is difficult. The literature suggests that mechanically loading the affected body part can ameliorate the condition. In this paper we introduce a new wearable orthosis specifically designed for wrist tremor suppression. The device is based on a MRF actuator, combined with a sensor system and tremor estimation and reduction algorithm. Six clinical case studies show that the orthosis is able to suppress tremor, in some cases achieving a tremor reduction as high as 80%, thus suggesting that tremor suppression through viscous loading is a feasible intervention.