Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3320
Date of Award
6-2026
Degree Name
MS in Mechanical Engineering
Department/Program
Mechanical Engineering
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
Eric Espinoza-Wade
Advisor Department
Mechanical Engineering
Advisor College
College of Engineering
Abstract
After suffering a stroke, many survivors experience physical disability that affects their ability to complete daily tasks using their hands. Physical therapy is often pre scribed to people post-stroke, but is not fully effective at restoring hand function. The goal of this project was to design and fabricate an assistive device for people post-stroke to help with grasp and release. The device was designed to address com mon shortcomings of existing similar devices. State of the art devices in this domain were investigated to determine a set of design improvements. A novel motor-actuated hand orthosis was designed to decrease weight, bulkiness, and cost compared to other devices. The wrist-mounted orthosis is used to help people post-stroke grasp and re lease objects used in their daily tasks and activities. Grasping is actuated by the user with a button input, which communicates with a servomotor via microcontroller to bend the four fingers around an object. The device was evaluated with an unimpaired person using a series of grasp and release tests on common objects. The results show that the device can assist people in manipulating low-weight objects with confidence and autonomy. Future testing with people post-stroke will be more insightful for determining device effectiveness for that population.