Daphne System for Neuromotor Control Evaluation: Reconfiguration Concepts

This paper deals with the design of a new prototype, developed for the quantitative analysis of neuromotor diseases. The system, called Daphne, may measure the reaction of a person evaluating the time response in the motion of one finger of the hand, the velocity of phalanxes, the force exerted from the finger against a button. Daphne performs the more modern aspect connected with concurrent and simultaneous engineering, and utilizes results in design with colors applications. It represents a new step towards the possibility of quantitative analysis of the performances of the human hand both of mechanical phenomenon and electromyographic of neuromotor diseases, which provoke a decrease in upper and lower limbs action. Daphne is characterized by an ergonomic design of reduced dimensions; its hardware and user-friendly software allow an easy and quick use by non expert users as well. Moreover, the system can be used not only in medical field, but also in the daily health and sports. Daphne is a portable device that performs an analysis of multiple parameters, such as: reaction time, speed, tremor, force, and ability of coordination and synchronization of the motion of a finger. The system also satisfies the requirements for medical applications in accordance to European normative for safety and quality. The reconfiguration concepts are used for a larger spread of use of Daphne in many fields of biorobotics and rehabilitation.