Evaluation of Commercial Ropes Applied as Artificial Tendons in Robotic Rehabilitation Orthoses

This study aims to present the design, selection and testing of commercial ropes (artificial tendons) used on robotic orthosis to perform the hand movements for stroke individuals over upper limb rehabilitation. It was determined the load applied in the rope would through direct measurements performed on four individuals after stroke using a bulb dynamometer. A tensile strength test was performed using eight commercial ropes in order to evaluate the maximum breaking force and select the most suitable to be used in this application. Finally, a pilot test was performed with a user of the device to ratify the effectiveness of the rope. The load on the cable was 12.38 kgf (121.4 N) in the stroke-affected hand, which is the maximum tensile force that the rope must to supports. Paragliding rope (DuPont™ Kevlar ® ) supporting a load of 250 N at a strain of 37 mm was selected. The clinical test proved the effectiveness of the rope, supporting the requested efforts, without presenting permanent deformation, effectively performing the participant’s finger opening.