• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.484-489
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• 2011

Some patients can't use their hands because of inherent and acquired 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 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 cylinder. A cylindrical-type finger force measuring system which can measure the grasping force of patients' fingers should be developed. This paper looks at the development of a cylindrical-type finger force measuring system with two-axis force/moment sensor which can measure grasping force. The two-axis force/moment sensor was designed and fabricated, and the high-speed force measuring device was designed and manufactured by using DSP (digital signal processing). Also, cylindrical-type finger force measuring system was developed using the developed two-axis force/moment sensor and the high-speed force measuring device, and the grasping force tests of men were performed using the developed system. The tests confirm that the average finger forces of right and left hands for men were about 186N and 172N respectively.