Kenji Komori

Fundamental study on evaluation of rotator cuff function using three-dimensional force display robot

The final aim of our research is to develop an evaluation system of rotator cuff function quantitatively using the three dimensional force display robot. The rotator cuff is made up of four inner muscles that act to stabilize the shoulder. Because of inner muscles, it is difficult to evaluate rotator cuff function directly. In this paper we perform three fundamental experiments to develop new evaluation methods of rotator cuff function. In the evaluation methods isotonic force is measured in various positions of an upper limb by using the force sensor, and muscular activity is measured by surface electromyography. The differences between the healthy shoulder and the disabled shoulder were found by the new proposed evaluation methods. From the results of experiments, the availability of the proposed methods is verified.

Screening Test Robot for Functional Decline of Shoulder Joint

In this paper, we propose a screening test robot for prevention and early detection of functional decline of the shoulder joint. For this purpose, we used a three-dimensional reaction force display robot (3D robot) that executed a method for quantitatively evaluating shoulder joint functions. We focused on two shoulder joint functions: one is flexibility/stability, and the other is cooperativeness. In the screening test for functional decline of flexibility/stability, the 3D robot measured the maximum isometric force exerted on the brace of the 3D robot by a subject. In the screening test for functional decline in cooperativeness, the 3D robot measured the maximum isokinetic force exerted on the brace by the subject and the rotational angle of the upper limb during the testing motion. We propose procedures for implementing the two kinds of screening tests using the 3D robot, and we developed a control method. We verified the effectiveness of the proposed screening robot in executing these procedures, the control method, and the quantitative evaluation method.

Quantitative evaluation support system of shoulder joint function using three-dimensional force display robot

In the rehabilitation field, there is a need for quantitative evaluation independent of the therapists subjective evaluation. In our previous work, we developed a binary-valued quantitative evaluation algorithm for the motor function of the shoulder joint based on sensor data from a test performed by therapists. In this paper, we developed a quantitative evaluation support system by implementing the binary-valued quantitative evaluation algorithm of the motor function and verified the effectiveness of the proposed system. The quantitative evaluation support system uses a three-dimensional force display robot that can imitate the test motion and the evaluation by the therapist. For this purpose, we analyzed the test motion and the evaluation by the therapist for ten subjects to determine two threshold parameters used in the binary-valued quantitative evaluation algorithm. In order to verify the evaluation accuracy in the test using the developed quantitative evaluation support system, we conducted the test using the developed system for three subjects. The sensitivity was 75% and the specificity was 75% in the test using the developed system. We plan to improve on the evaluation accuracy in our future work.

A newly developed system for quantitative evaluation on hand sensorimotor integration function

This paper presents a newly developed quantitative evaluation system on hand sensorimotor integration function. The objective assessment of hand sensorimotor integration function should be necessary to evaluate how the affected thumb or fingers move smoothly. Our present study aims to construct the quantitative evaluation system of sensorimotor integration function of the hand finger. The experimental results show the different tendency between non-dominant hand and dominant hand in the healthy persons. Furthermore, the phenomenon that the visual information and the somatosensory information are integrated by the integration function, is found only for the healthy dominant hand.