COMPUTER AIDED ENGINEERING (CAE) APPROACH TO TOPOLOCICAL OPTIMIZATION OF A FRAME FOR A PATIENT-SPECIFIC HAND EXOSKELETON

In this work, a complete re-design of the supporting structure for an existing hand exoskeleton has been presented, to increase the exoskeleton portability to obtain a more comfortable device to wear. A complete modeling of the supporting structure integrated with the splint was implemented using topological optimization and a complete analysis of the load conditions has been done. The forces involved were defined starting from the reaction forces due to the hand opening defined by experimental tests performed on a patient affected by a particular hand open impairment. The load conditions were computed through the application of the static equilibrium equations in the 2D schematization for the finger’s mechanism and by means of an FE analysis for the contact forces between the splint and the arm. As a result, the final configuration ensures an effective integration between the exoskeleton and the splint with a mass reduction of 59% and deformations comparable to the non-optimized solution.