Xiaoyun Wang
Doctor of Philosophy, (Mechatronics Engineering)
Study Completed: 2014
College of Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
A Novel Wearable Assistive Device for Jaw Motion Disability Rehabilitation
Read article at Massey Research Online: 
A considerable number (15-45%) of post-stroke patients suffer disabled jaw motion. Clinical evidence shows that therapeutic exercise can help increase mouth opening distance. However, devices that provide such therapy are rare. Ms Wang developed an assistant robot that patients can wear for daily mouth opening practice. She derived a pattern for synthesizing the mechanism by analysing in-vivo mandibular movement. She then expanded the design of the robot into an entire mechatronic system. Next, she integrated the control strategy with the hardware controller, which performed well at following control commands. To ensure the safety of wearers when using devices, she conducted experiments to investigate potential detrimental effects. These experiments demonstrated that the device can deliver specified motion that does not result in harm to wearers. Thus, her device provides an efficient tool for treating lost jaw motion.
Supervisors
Professor Peter Xu
Professor Olaf Diegel
Professor Johan Potgieter