Description:
Currently, sedentary lifestyle with an unhealthy diet has provoked a significant in- crease in the number of overweight and obesity people. This medical condition implies several health problems, for example high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, brain hemorrhages, arterial obstructions, and cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases tend to cause those veins and arteries get narrowing and being clogged up. This situation provokes a heart attack or a cerebrovascular accident. The consequences of those illnesses are nerves and tissue injuries: both top ends (arms, hands, and fingers) and bottom ends. Those provokes movement disorders. People, who has movement problems at the top and bottom ends must go to rehabili- tate in order to recover movement of that damaged extremity. This thesis presents the design and automation of an electronic rehabilitation ortho- sis for the index finger and thumb of the left hand, for people with recent cardiovascular problems, who present muscular dystrophy as a consequence of the cardiovascular event suffered. The system of this orthosis performs 3 exercise routines, for different levels of rehabilitation, which can be selected by the user. It is important to say that the selection of these two fingers, index, and thumb, have a purpose, which is to be able to perform the "clamp" grip function. Achieving this grip function, people will be able to carry out activities that they could no longer do and recover a bit of their quality of life by carrying out some activities by themselves.