Solution of the contact task of the elbow orthosis prototype

Over the past two decades, upper limb exoskeletons used for service delivery and rehabilitation have attracted attention from the biomedical and engineering sectors. Technology is becoming one of the key solutions for physically weak or disabled people. Mechanical devices were developed to improve the performance and strength of the user. Devices that help the patient during postoperative or post-traumatic rehabilitation after joint damage of various types are orthoses. There are different types of orthoses, such as mechanical, active with EMG functions, exoskeletons, and others. In this work, an overview of various types of orthoses is given, problems of fixing orthoses elements are considered. In the review of the literature related to these studies, the advantages and disadvantages of bolted connections are given. Two contact problems of the orthosis were also considered and the stress-strain state of the bolted joint of the structural elements of the elbow orthosis prototype under study was determined using the FEMAP with NASTRAN software package. Based on the necessary operating conditions, a prototype model of the orthosis was presented.