# Robotic Hand Orthosis Providing Grasp Assistance for Patients with Brachial Plexus Injuries

> **NIH NIH R21** · VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV · 2020 · $181,846

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Robotic Hand Orthosis Providing Grasp Assistance for Patients with Brachial Plexus Injuries
The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that transfers signals originating in the cervical spinal cord to
the shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers. These nerves provide motor function and sensation to those
structures. Traumatic injury to the brachial plexus in adults can result in paralysis of the upper limb in
varying degrees of severity. Surgical intervention can restore motion and control to the shoulder, upper
arm, and lower arm through muscle and nerve grafts. However, hand mobility and control is difficult to
restore, resulting in severe disability and decrease in quality of life for patients with impaired
functionality following such an injury. Robotic exoskeleton technology can be utilized to provide an
assistive device that provides significant improvement in the mobility and dexterity of a paralyzed hand.
 The overall objective of this research is to design, fabricate, integrate, and test a lightweight and
portable robotic hand orthosis intended to restore hand functionality through fully controllable individual
finger actuation. This objective is based on the hypothesis that use of such a robotic hand orthosis will
result in significant improvement of hand ability for adults with brachial plexus injury, as evaluated
through the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP).
 To achieve this, several novel design aspects are incorporated. The use of miniature linear
actuators and lightweight materials allows for the motors and sensors to all mount atop the dorsum of
the hand, and eliminate the need for bulky external actuation units. In addition, the actuators have
inbuilt force sensing capabilities to provide feedback on the force being applied to each individual
finger, even before contact is made with a grasped object. Furthermore, wrist flexion/extension is
powered, resulting in a more realistic grasping paradigm than is commonly found in robotic orthoses.
Moreover, an intuitive control system will be designed in order to fully capitalize on the controllability of
each finger, allowing for varied grasp geometries and motions.
A summary of the specific aims of this study are:
1. Design and prototype the robotic hand orthosis with the goal of creating a uniquely dexterous,
 lightweight and portable device. In addition, the control methodologies required to exploit the full
 capabilities of the orthosis will be designed. This will result in the development of an
 experimental research platform to determine the viability of the design and hypothesis.
2. Perform a feasibility trial of the robotic orthosis device by providing it to a small cohort of adult
 patients suffering from paralysis due to a brachial plexus injury. The patients will be assessed
 via the SHAP, and their respective scores both with and without the orthosis will be evaluated to
 determine their level of improvement in dexterity and function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9925800
- **Project number:** 5R21HD095027-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Pinhas Ben-Tzvi
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $181,846
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-06 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9925800

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9925800, Robotic Hand Orthosis Providing Grasp Assistance for Patients with Brachial Plexus Injuries (5R21HD095027-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9925800. Licensed CC0.

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