3D AID - Goals

The 3D-AID project will allow us to develop, make usable and test a new process flow for producing with digital manufacturing technologiesing robotic systems a low cost to use:

  1. for prosthetic applicationsin patients with upper limb amputation;
  2. for assistancein patients with functional impairment of the hand.

This process flow, having understood the patient's disability and the level of assistance required, will make it possible to develop prosthetic robotic solutions or exoskeletal aids customization which can be used by patients during the performance of daily life activities to regain part of the lost functionality. The analysis of anatomical features e kinematics of the patient will allow to develop a virtual model of hand which will allow, for both types of robotic solutions (exoskeleton and prosthesis), to design and develop devices optimized for theingol user by minimizing the number of tests on the patient.

Specifically, the project will allow the following objectives to be achieved:

  1. Patient profiling. A clinical procedure will be developedingengineering that will allow you to evaluate the s. with extreme precisioningol patient. The following will be taken into consideration: clinical aspects, such as overall health status, level of disability, cognitive status; occupational aspects, such as the type of work conducted and the most required motor functions; morphological and kinematic aspects, necessary for the sizing and design of the robotic device.
  2. Development of the virtual model. A procedure will be developed which, once the patient's morphological and kinematic data have been acquired, allows the creation of a virtual model of his hand necessary to extract useful project parameters (such as range of motion and joint torques) and to virtually test the solutions developed for identify any critical issues without having to resort to patient tests
  3. Development of the robotic solution. A procedure will be set up which, having incorporated the technical specifications, the functional requirements, the morphological and kinematic parameters, allows to design and develop robotic solutions with 3D printing techniques optimized for the specific needs of the patient.
  4. proof of concept. In order to test the proposed process flow, classes of hand pathologies will be identified and for each pathology patients will be recruited who will be provided with a device developed according to the process flow described in detail in section 2. The clinical and ingengineers will follow the patient in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

The innovation that 3D-AID will allow to introduce in the manufacturing process of hand prostheses and exoskeletons is set to have a considerable clinical impact, in the field of rehabilitation and functional replacement with a considerable potential user base. The widespread diffusion of robotic solutions for functional replacement and assistance will make it possible to increase the rate and time of use of these devices, leading to an easier relocation of the patient of working age in the socio-productive context with a positive impact on the country system. In this context, the partnership UCBM-INAIL will make it possible to easily translate the research results into the most appropriate application context.