Harnessing Revolutionary Technology to Strengthen Your Weak Grip: Carbonhand

Why do we need a good grip?

We rely so much on our hands

I guess the answer is obvious. Humans use their hands in a multitude of ways. From waving hello and goodbye, to pointing directions, or using sign language, our hands are an integral part of communication in all cultures.

Of course, we must grip, lift, hold, and manipulate objects in our daily lives. Unfortunately, the muscles and nervous system that powers these movements can become weak or immobile due to age, illness, or injury. For older individuals, researchers have suggested that grip strength is a “useful indicator for overall health,” and as a biomarker of health status, it may be a better indicator of life expectancy than blood pressure. 

At Anatomical Concepts, we often work closely with clients who have neurological conditions such as spinal cord injuries, stroke, MS, cerebral palsy and more. The full list of conditions that can potentially benefit from help is shown below. These individuals may have grip problems and seek in the best case to either recover function via therapeutic exercises or use assistive technology to compensate for lost grip function. 

Many conditions can affect hand and finger mobility and grip strength

These conditions can lead to partial or total impairments of finger mobility, and overall hand strength and dexterity. This severely limits a person's independence and no one can be happy about that. As the body ages, so too can our ability to grip and use our hands effectively with simple tasks like opening jars or doors because it becomes difficult for many to grip objects securely.

Carbonhand

Carbonhand evolved from an original idea in 2006 and has been painstakingly developed and refined to fulfil its potential with the release of Carbonhand 2.0. Carbonhand is a medical device (a soft robotic glove) that can act to assist a person to grip objects in a very natural way - sometimes with delicacy and sometimes with greater power. 

In this sense, Carbonhand can act as an assistive device - allowing someone to grip and hold an object in a way that would not otherwise be possible for them. In some cases, simply with repetitive use, it can help restore normal function.

Being able to assist in a very natural way is important for the useability of the product. When you are I set out to hold or grip something it does not take a great deal of concentration in most situations. We largely carry out the tasks without much conscious thought. The design of Carbonhand aims to make this the case for its users too.

The Carbonhand Glove and sensors

Carbonhand was created by Bioservo Technologies AB to help those with weak grips become stronger and more independent. Carbonhand is a revolutionary product that uses advanced technology to create an exoskeleton over the hand. 

This exoskeleton is partly a specially designed glove with a battery-powered controller linked to the glove by what we could call "artificial tendons". This arrangement helps amplify grip strength, making it much easier for users to grip objects for everyday tasks. 

An appropriately sized, partial glove, fits over the thumb and two fingers. The glove is easy to doff and don and designed to incorporate carefully sited pressure sensors and those artificial tendons. 
The pressure sensors detect contact with an object and the artificial tendons transfer the force from the power unit to implement the natural grip. Of course, what makes Carbonhand superb, is the control software that turns the contact pressure on a digit into a functional grip.

How Carbonhand works

The images and video below showcase how Carbonhand is used and works.

The control unit can be on a belt, shoulder harness or mounted on a wheelchair

In addition to the contract pressure sensors the user can perform a grip operation with a convenient button

By using the CarbonConnect App (IOS or Android) each user can personalise the performance of the product. It's a nice balance of simplicity and customisation. Carbonhand comes with three pre-defined profiles, that can be personally adjusted to fit the user’s needs.

You can adjust the following

• Responsiveness - the relation between the sensor input and force output

• Maxforce - the maximum force provided by Carbonhand

• Stickiness - the force required by the user to release the grip 

Another important feature is Sensor Synergies

Sometimes a user will have the residual ability to move particular digits independently and not others. Using the App we can link individual sensors to multiple fingers. This allows us to take advantage of residual movement if it is present but the lack of a particular movement will not disallow the use of Carbonhand.

The video shows this in action

Carbonhand has evolved a great deal since its introduction first as the SEM Glove in 2013, followed by the first generation of the Carbonhand in 2019. These first generations used a glove design that was difficult for some clients to get on and pressure sensor positions that were not optimised. Despite this, early trials showed very good results for many users provided they fit the relatively narrow indications for use.

We are confident that with Carbonhand 2.0, many more clients will be able to benefit from this remarkable technology.

Research with Carbonhand

The image below summarises the research conducted so far using Carbonhand.

• 189 patients were studied in four different studies

• Carbonhand was used as an Assistive aid, for Rehabilitation use with a Control group

• During a period of 4 – 12 weeks

• Examples of patient groups: Neurological hand dysfunction, Post traumatic hand injury, Weak hands due to ageing

If you would like details of the studies conducted so far please contact us.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Carbonhand soft robotic glove is a medical device that can allow people suffering from grip problems to better manage their condition. Through the power of robotics, it can effectively compensate for lost function. 

The Carbonhand glove has the potential to effectively assist individuals in many different activities constrained by their loss of grip function, such as self-care tasks, holding everyday objects and engaging in sports or leisure activities. 

This technology gives independence and empowers you to take back control over your life. At Anatomical Concepts, we prioritise safety and comfort. Our company’s goal is that you feel secure using such a device and are confident about what this new technology brings into your life. Take action now and contact us for more information or to discuss a demonstration – we are just an email away! Carbonhand: Empower People For A Better Quality Of Life.

Reading

Bohannon RW. Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults. Clin Interv Aging. 2019 Oct 1;14:1681-1691. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S194543. PMID: 31631989; PMCID: PMC6778477.