Abstract
An assistance apparatus for upper limbs for patients who can control their finger but they cannot lift up their arms themselves, for example myopathy and hemiplegic patients, was developed. This apparatus can support to do ADL (Activities of Daily Living) motions (for instance, eating, writing, putting on making up, wiping his/her face, and so on) themselves. To confirm the effectiveness of assistance ability, we measured muscle activity while using the device, and compared the %MVC data between using the device or not. As a result, the activity decreased up to 80%, and the effectiveness of this device could be confirmed. Finally, the influence of the cerebral activity according to the difference of the operators and input devices for operation was measured. As a result, to apply in Neuro-Rehabilitation, it is effective for a rehabilitant to input the motion with a joy stick or a push switch by him/herself.
