Development of cylindrical-type finger force measuring system using force sensors and its characteristics evaluation

Some patients cannot use their hands because of the paralysis of their fingers. Their fingers can recover with rehabilitative training, and the extent of rehabilitation can be judged by grasping a cylindrical-object with their fingers. At present, the cylindrical-object used in hospitals is only a plastic cylinder, which cannot measure grasping force of the fingers. Therefore, doctors must judge the extent of rehabilitation by watching patients' fingers as they grasp the plastic cylinder. In this paper, the development of two cylindrical-type finger force measuring systems with four force sensors for left hand and right hand were developed. The developed finger force measuring system can measure the grasping force of patients' each finger (forefinger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger), and the measured results could be used to judge the rehabilitation extent of a finger patient. The grasping force tests of men and women were performed using the developed cylindrical-type finger force measuring systems. The tests confirm that the average finger forces of right hand and left hand for men were about 194 N and 179 N, and for women, 108 N and 95 N. ► This paper presents the cylindrical-type finger force measuring system. ► The developed measuring system can measure the grasping finger force. ► The measured results could be used to judge the rehabilitation extent.