Study on mitigation of tremor in hands using a dynamic vibration absorber

Abstract

In this study, we focus on the suppression of essential tremor in human limb using a low cost and less burdensome vibration damping device. The tremor is observed in most human arms even at physically well condition that is derived from excessive stress or chills, therefore, it may cause anyone bad effect on precise operation such as welding and surgery. In this work, experiments are performed where the simulated microscopic surgery is imposed on subjects whose fingers are equipped with the dynamic absorber attenuating the tremor in their hands. The absorber is designed and tuned to a specific frequency based on the preliminary measurement result of tremors. Subjects were asked to grip a needle having a relatively small diameter using tweezers, and were also asked to insert it in a needle with a larger diameter. Tremors were measured while the subjects keep the tip of the needle in place. It is shown that the dynamic absorber can attenuate vibration in human fingers.