A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke Recovery

Stroke-induced hand dysfunction substantially impairs patients’ quality of life, creating an urgent need for portable, adaptive rehabilitation devices. This study introduces a smart rehabilitation glove actuated by shape-memory alloy (SMA) wires, leveraging their high power-to-weight ratio, controll...

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Main Authors: Yutong Xie, Songrhon Sun, Yiwen Liu, Fei Xiao, Weijie Li, Shukun Wu, Xiaorong Cai, Xifan Ding, Xuejun Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7266
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author Yutong Xie
Songrhon Sun
Yiwen Liu
Fei Xiao
Weijie Li
Shukun Wu
Xiaorong Cai
Xifan Ding
Xuejun Jin
author_facet Yutong Xie
Songrhon Sun
Yiwen Liu
Fei Xiao
Weijie Li
Shukun Wu
Xiaorong Cai
Xifan Ding
Xuejun Jin
author_sort Yutong Xie
collection DOAJ
description Stroke-induced hand dysfunction substantially impairs patients’ quality of life, creating an urgent need for portable, adaptive rehabilitation devices. This study introduces a smart rehabilitation glove actuated by shape-memory alloy (SMA) wires, leveraging their high power-to-weight ratio, controllable strain recovery, and reversible phase transformation to overcome the limitations of conventional motor-driven or pneumatic gloves. The glove incorporates SMA-based actuation units achieving 50 mm contraction (5% strain) within 7 s, enabling finger flexion to ~34° for personalized rehabilitation protocols. A mobile application provides wireless regulation of SMA actuation modes and facilitates real-time telemedicine consultations. The prototype demonstrates an ultra-lightweight, compact design enabled by SMA’s intrinsic properties, offering a promising solution for home-based post-stroke rehabilitation. This work establishes the transformative potential of SMAs in wearable biomedical technologies.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2076-3417
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Applied Sciences
spelling doaj-art-b43b0fd237464ee1aec486bcdd78d8e52025-08-20T03:28:36ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011513726610.3390/app15137266A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke RecoveryYutong Xie0Songrhon Sun1Yiwen Liu2Fei Xiao3Weijie Li4Shukun Wu5Xiaorong Cai6Xifan Ding7Xuejun Jin8School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center of Advanced Magnetic Resonance Technologies for Diagnosis and Therapy, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaState Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composite, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaState Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composite, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaState Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composite, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaStudent Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinaState Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composite, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaSchool of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center of Advanced Magnetic Resonance Technologies for Diagnosis and Therapy, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, ChinaStroke-induced hand dysfunction substantially impairs patients’ quality of life, creating an urgent need for portable, adaptive rehabilitation devices. This study introduces a smart rehabilitation glove actuated by shape-memory alloy (SMA) wires, leveraging their high power-to-weight ratio, controllable strain recovery, and reversible phase transformation to overcome the limitations of conventional motor-driven or pneumatic gloves. The glove incorporates SMA-based actuation units achieving 50 mm contraction (5% strain) within 7 s, enabling finger flexion to ~34° for personalized rehabilitation protocols. A mobile application provides wireless regulation of SMA actuation modes and facilitates real-time telemedicine consultations. The prototype demonstrates an ultra-lightweight, compact design enabled by SMA’s intrinsic properties, offering a promising solution for home-based post-stroke rehabilitation. This work establishes the transformative potential of SMAs in wearable biomedical technologies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7266shape-memory alloysrehabilitation glovesmart wearable devicestroke recovery
spellingShingle Yutong Xie
Songrhon Sun
Yiwen Liu
Fei Xiao
Weijie Li
Shukun Wu
Xiaorong Cai
Xifan Ding
Xuejun Jin
A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke Recovery
Applied Sciences
shape-memory alloys
rehabilitation glove
smart wearable device
stroke recovery
title A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke Recovery
title_full A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke Recovery
title_fullStr A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke Recovery
title_full_unstemmed A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke Recovery
title_short A Smart Rehabilitation Glove Based on Shape-Memory Alloys for Stroke Recovery
title_sort smart rehabilitation glove based on shape memory alloys for stroke recovery
topic shape-memory alloys
rehabilitation glove
smart wearable device
stroke recovery
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/13/7266
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