US 11,752,326 B2
Portable and wearable hand-grasp neuro-orthosis
David Friedenberg, Worthington, OH (US); Gaurav Sharma, Columbus, OH (US); Samuel Colachis, Columbus, OH (US); Nicholas Annetta, Columbus, OH (US); and Amanda Noonan, Columbus, OH (US)
Assigned to BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE, Columbus, OH (US)
Filed by Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH (US)
Filed on Jun. 4, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/339,309.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/035,720, filed on Jun. 6, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0379372 A1, Dec. 9, 2021
Int. Cl. A61N 1/04 (2006.01); A61N 1/36 (2006.01); A61B 5/313 (2021.01); A61B 5/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61N 1/0452 (2013.01) [A61B 5/0002 (2013.01); A61B 5/313 (2021.01); A61B 5/4836 (2013.01); A61B 5/6894 (2013.01); A61B 5/744 (2013.01); A61N 1/0484 (2013.01); A61N 1/36003 (2013.01); A61N 1/36031 (2017.08)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A portable and wearable hand-grasp neuro-orthosis configured for use in a home environment to restore volitionally controlled grasp functions for a subject with a cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), comprising:
a wearable sleeve with electrodes;
electromyography (EMG) amplifiers integrated with the wearable sleeve and configured to record and digitize EMG signals acquired via the electrodes, the EMG amplifiers integrated with the wearable sleeve including switches that automatically disconnect and reconnect the EMG amplifiers;
electronics for operating the wearable sleeve to perform functional electrical stimulation (FES) and EMG, the electronics configured for mounting on a wheelchair, the electronics configured to generate a sync output to automatically operate the switches of the EMG amplifiers to disconnect the EMG amplifiers from the electrodes before FES is applied and to reconnect the EMG amplifiers with the electrodes after the FES is applied; and
a controller configured for mounting on a wheelchair and controlling the electronics to read EMG via the EMG amplifiers integrated with the sleeve, decode the read EMG to determine an intent of the user, and operate the electronics to apply FES via the sleeve to implement the intent of the user.