ABSTRACT
Objective To develop a data glove evaluation system to assist rehabilitation physicians and therapists in assessing the degree of rehabilitation of hand-wounded patients. Methods A data glove containing 136-axis inertial sensors was designed and produced. It was tested on 10 healthy subjects and 3 hand trauma pa-tients admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Run Run Shaw Hospital. The glove transmitted ac-celeration and angular velocity components in the X, Y and Z directions to a computer terminal, allowing the ben-ding angles of the subject′s finger joints to be calculated. Traditional protractor measurements were used to verify to what extent the data glove accurately reflected the hand and joint activity. Results Compared with the traditional protractor measurement method, the data glove quickly gave accurate maximum bending angles both in healthy and hand-wounded subjects . Such data can facilitate the rehabilitation of hand injuries. Conclusions The data glove produced in this study can effectively assist rehabilitation doctors and therapists in assessing the recovery of hand-injured patients.