US-20260124094-A1 - Orthosis Systems and Rehabilitation of Impaired Body Parts

US20260124094A1US 20260124094 A1US20260124094 A1US 20260124094A1US-20260124094-A1

Abstract

An orthosis device for a subject and a rehabilitation system including the orthosis device includes a main housing assembly configured to be worn on an upper extremity of the subject and comprising a motor mechanism configured to actuate movement of at least one finger of the subject. A finger interface assembly is connected to the main housing assembly and configured to be secured to at least one finger of the subject and to induce, as actuated by the motor mechanism, flexion and extension motion of the at least one secured finger. The orthosis device is configured to leave unsecured to the orthosis device at least one finger that is not the at least one finger secured to the finger stay assembly.

Inventors

Kern Bhugra
August Anderson

Assignees

NEUROLUTIONS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250908

Claims (20)

1 . (canceled)
2 . A wearable device for moving or assisting in movement of a body part of a subject, the wearable device comprising: a housing assembly configured to be worn on a hand of the subject, the housing assembly comprising a motor mechanism; a finger interface assembly coupled to the housing assembly and configured to be secured to at least one finger of the hand of the subject, wherein the finger interface assembly is movable, in response to an actuation of the motor mechanism, to induce a flexion motion and an extension motion of the at least one finger; and an intermediate structure coupling the housing assembly and the finger interface assembly and configured such that the finger interface assembly is permitted to rotate relative to the housing assembly.
3 . The wearable device of claim 2 , wherein the motor mechanism is movable between an extended position and a retracted position, the wearable device is configured such that (1) movement of the motor mechanism to the extended position causes the finger interface assembly to induce the flexion motion to the at least one finger, and (2) movement of the motor mechanism to the retracted position causes the finger interface assembly to induce the extension motion to the at least one finger.
4 . The wearable device of claim 2 , wherein the finger interface assembly comprises a finger cover sized to receive the at least one finger and a support structure extending between the intermediate structure and the finger cover, wherein the finger cover is slidably coupled to the support structure.
5 . The wearable device of claim 4 , wherein the finger interface assembly comprises a coupling mechanism comprising a first mating component coupled to the finger cover and a second mating component coupled to the support structure, the second mating component comprising a track configured to slidably receive the first mating component.
6 . The wearable device of claim 5 , wherein the first mating component comprises a linear slide configured to slide within the track of the second mating component.
7 . The wearable device of claim 4 , wherein the finger cover is pivotable relative to the support structure.
8 . The wearable device of claim 4 , wherein the finger cover comprises a top brace, a bottom brace, and a strap, wherein the strap is configured to secure the at least one finger between the top brace and the bottom brace.
9 . The wearable device of claim 8 , wherein the support structure is disposed above the top brace of the finger cover when the wearable device is secured to the at least one finger of the hand of the subject.
10 . The wearable device of claim 4 , wherein the support structure is configured to rotate relative to the housing assembly in response to actuation of the motor mechanism.
11 . The wearable device of claim 2 , wherein the housing assembly is configured to be worn on the hand and a forearm of the subject.
12 . A rehabilitation system for a subject, the system comprising: a brain signal acquisition device configured to collect brain signals from the subject; and a wearable device configured for moving or assisting in movement of a body part of the subject in response to the collected brain signals, the wearable device comprising: a housing assembly configured to be worn on a hand of the subject, the housing assembly comprising a motor mechanism; a finger interface assembly coupled to the housing assembly and configured to be secured to at least one finger of the hand of the subject, wherein the finger interface assembly is movable, in response to an actuation of the motor mechanism, to induce a flexion motion and an extension motion of the at least one finger; and an intermediate structure coupling the housing assembly and the finger interface assembly and configured such that the finger interface assembly is permitted to rotate relative to the housing assembly.
13 . The system of claim 12 , comprising a brain computer interface (BCI) component communicatively coupled to one or more of the brain signal acquisition device and the wearable device.
14 . The system of claim 13 , comprising a portable electronic device, wherein the portable electronic device comprises the BCI component.
15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the motor mechanism is movable between an extended position and a retracted position, the wearable device is configured such that (1) movement of the motor mechanism to the extended position causes the finger interface assembly to induce the flexion motion to the at least one finger, and (2) movement of the motor mechanism to the retracted position causes the finger interface assembly to induce the extension motion to the at least one finger.
16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the finger interface assembly comprises a finger cover and a support structure coupling the intermediate structure to finger cover, wherein the finger cover is sized to receive the at least one finger.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the finger interface assembly comprises a coupling mechanism comprising a first mating component coupled to the finger cover and a second mating component coupled to the support structure, the second mating component comprising a track configured to slidably receive the first mating component and permit the finger cover to slide relative to the support structure.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the finger cover is pivotable relative to the support structure.
19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the finger cover comprises a top brace arranged for placement above the at least one finger and a bottom brace arranged for placement below the at least one finger.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the first mating component is arranged on an outer surface of the top brace.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/069,407, filed on Oct. 13, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/068,426, filed on Oct. 12, 2020 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,534,358), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/914,162, filed on Oct. 11, 2019. The contents of the aforementioned applications are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This specification relates to orthosis systems and to the rehabilitation of impaired limbs, for example, the rehabilitation of an upper limb impaired due to a hemispheric stroke event. BACKGROUND Orthosis device designs exist that operate to move or assist in the movement of a subject's body part, for example, upper or lower extremities of a human body. Some orthosis device designs are designed for use in rehabilitating an impaired body part, such as impairment caused by a stroke event. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology involves the acquisition and interpretation of brain signals to determine intentions of the person that produced the brain signals and using the determined intentions to carry out intended tasks. BCI technology has been explored in connection with the rehabilitation of impaired body parts, for example, rehabilitation of upper extremity body parts such as arm and hand function impaired due to a stroke event. Examples of BCI-based systems for use with impaired body parts include descriptions in U.S. Pat. No. 9,730,816 to Leuthardt et al. ('816 patent), under license to the assignee of the present patent application, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein. The '816 patent describes the use of BCI techniques to assist a hemiparetic subject, or in other words, a subject who has suffered a unilateral stroke brain insult and thus has an injury in, or mainly in, one hemisphere of the brain. For that patient, the other hemisphere of the brain may be normal. The '816 patent describes an idea of ipsilateral control, in which brain signals from one side of the brain are adapted to be used, through a BCI training process, to control body functions on the same side of the body. Additional examples of BCI-based systems for use with impaired body parts include descriptions in U.S. Pat. No. 9,539,118 to Leuthardt et al. ('118 patent), commonly assigned with the present patent application, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. The '118 patent describes wearable orthosis device designs that operate to move or assist in the movement of impaired body parts, impaired due to a stroke event, for example, among other conditions described in the '118 patent. For example, the '118 patent describes rehabilitation approaches for impaired fingers, among other body parts including upper as well as lower extremities, using wearable orthosis devices that operate to move or assist in the movement of the impaired body part and that are controlled using BCI techniques. The '118 patent further elaborates BCI-based rehabilitation techniques that utilize brain plasticity to “rewire” the brain to achieve motor control of impaired body parts. Orthoses have used various mechanisms to accomplish the movement and/or assistance in the movement of impaired body parts. One such mechanism is to physically attach or secure an active movable portion of the orthosis device to the body part that is to be moved or with which movement is to be assisted. The active movable portion of the orthosis device secured to the body part may then be activated to move by a motor or some other form of actuation, and as such accomplish or assist in the movement of the impaired body part secured thereto. Another such mechanism to accomplish or assist in the movement of a body part is through a technique called functional electrical stimulation (“FES”), which involves the application of mild electrical stimuli to muscles that help the muscles move or move better. Rehabilitation of an impaired body part may also involve the application of continuous passive motion (“CPM”) to the impaired body part, wherein the body part is moved with no volition on the part of the subject. In many cases, a therapist may manually apply CPM to a patient, in essence “working” the body part to rehabilitate it. Additionally, various machines exist that are designed to apply CPM to body parts for rehabilitating that body part. Despite the existence of various orthosis device designs and rehabilitation systems and techniques utilizing various orthosis device designs, there is much room for improvement to achieve improved rehabilitation outcomes. SUMMARY This specification describes systems, devices, and methods for the movement and/or rehabilitation of body parts, for example, the rehabilitation of an upper limb impaired due to a hemispheric stroke event. In one aspect, a system is provided for use in rehabilitating an impaired body part of a subject. The rehabilitation s