Abstract
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disabling and painful disease of finger joints affecting mainly the elderly people and requiring continuous medications and physical therapy. Traditional arthritis measurements require labor intensive examination by clinical staff. These manual measurements are inaccurate and subject to observer variations. Nowadays the use of wearable technologies is spreading and rapidly becoming a trend promising to offer key benefits in the management of chronic diseases especially at home. Here, we propose an affordable Smart Glove instrument for assisting physiotherapists in remotely analysing patients finger flexions when performing diverse activities at home. An E-textile based glove uses flex and force sensors, and an Arduino platform to transmit motion data to the physiotherapists using a smart phone using a dedicated App. The flex sensor on the index finger detects and estimates the motion, a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Nano is used for processing and wireless transmission. The wearable smart glove uses a lithium ion 3.3V rechargeable 400mAH battery for consuming power. This Smart Glove also helps in monitoring the patient's response to either medication and/or diverse recommended movements. The data collected can be used to analyse the status of the patient with time and also in assisting care givers to change planned activities or exercises when needed.