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Department of Engineering, ICT and Technologies for Energy and Transport Patent Title Biomedical device for robotized rehabilitation of a human upper limb, particularly for neuromotor rehabilitation of the shoulder and elbow joint. Ref. CNR 10156 Assignee(s): CNR CNR Institute: ITIA Main Inventor: Mateo Malosio Countries: IT, EP, US Priority date: 28/09/2010 Abstract The present invention relates to a biomedical device for assisted neuromotor rehabilitation of the shoulder and elbow joints of a human body. The present invention overcomes limitations affecting pre­existing exoskeletons for neurorehabilitation and, in particular, a) the intrinsic kinematic singularity of the structure nearby a completely extended configuration of the elbow, b) the approximation of the shoulder movement by a spherical joint. Overcoming these limitations results in an extended range of motion of the whole upper limb with a more adaptable mobility to the shoulder movement. The developed kinematic structure can be exploited to realize both a passive, unactuated and gravity­balanced exoskeleton, helpful to support the patient’s arm with a lightweight and cost­effective solution, and an actuated one for patients with few residual motion abilities. Background Nowadays, in order to improve and optimize techniques of neuromotor rehabilitation of the human body limbs, it is known art to use motorized or assistive device to allow the patient musculoskeletal apparatus to follow physiological movements. Developed solutions typically lack of a) an extended exploitable mobility of the elbow articulation and b) a comfortable and human­compatible motion of the joint replicating the complex human shoulder articulation. Technology The present invention refers to a biomedical device made up of an hybrid kinematic structure, characterized by both actuated and unactuated joints, associable respectively with the upper arm and the forearm, and connected by a peculiar arrangement of joints preventing the elbow singularity and allowing a suitable mobility to shoulder movements. Advantages and Applications Kinematic architecture allowing a wide mobility of the elbow joint and a human­compatible motion of the shoulder joint. The kinematic scheme can be exploited to realize both an active and a passive gravity­balanced exoskeleton, to support the upper arm mass and facilitate rehabilitation exercises. Interfaceable with additional feedback devices for multimodal rehabilitation tasks. Development stage The exoskeleton has been realized in two different versions. The LIGHTarm prototype passively compensates the mass of the upper­limb facilitating antigravity rehabilitation tasks. The POWERarm prototype is characterized by a set of degrees of freedom actuated through a cable­based transmission to actively assist 101 the patient during rehabilitation tasks.