[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-85035-en":3,"doc-seo-85035-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},85035,1374391975076,"Riley","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/14000253ca4ec9f6853?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1783305029341752051",7,"Healthcare","Towards Soft Robotic Exogloves for Musculoskeletal Manipulation to Reduce Pain and Spasticity","Hand spasticity and associated pain impact 12 million people worldwide, affecting stroke survivors, arthritis patients, and individuals with other muscle and nerve deficiencies. Soft robotic exogloves aim to improve mobility or relieve pain, yet existing solutions rarely address both together. This work presents a preliminary soft robotic exoglove delivering massage-like compression to relax spastic muscles while supporting mobility. The glove uses personalized soft pneumatic actuators tailored to individual topology and kinematics. 3D modeling, finite element analysis at 100–200 kPa, optimization, fabrication, and pilot wear validation assess comfort and effectiveness.","Towards Soft Robotic Exogloves for Musculoskeletal Manipulation to  \nReduce Pain and Spasticity  \nAntonia Salluce 1 ,2 , Maeryn Erdheim 1 ,2 , Gailen Davis 1 , Lauren H. Sullivan 1 , Max-William Kanz 1 ,  \nand Jacqueline Libby3 , Member, IEEE  \narXiv :2607 .07958v 1 [ cs .RO] 8 Jul 2026  \nAbstract—Hand spasticity and resulting pain affect 12 million people worldwide, including stroke survivors, arthritis patients, and those with other muscle and nerve deficiencies. Soft robotic exogloves are being introduced to help patients enhance mobility or manage pain; however, there are no current solutions that address both pain and mobility. We present preliminary development of a soft robotic exoglove that both aids in mobility and administers massage-like compression to relax spastic muscles. The glove consists of soft pneumatic actuators that are personalized to an individual’s hand topology and kinematics, allowing for optimal conformability and targeted mobility. Novel soft actuators were designed, analyzed, fabricated, assembled into an exoglove, and experimentally tested. Actuators were 3D modeled and analyzed with finite element modeling under pressures of 100 and 200 kPa. Geometries were optimized to minimize stress before fabrication and testing. A dorsal finger actuator was successfully customized to a participant’s hand topology, providing full conformal contact and maximal force distribution. A ventral finger actuator was successfully fabricated that can be drastically compressed in size to fit into the tight space of a hyperflexed spastic finger. A palmar actuator was successfully printed with stereolithography, showing potential for 3D-printed soft actuators with more complex geometries. The glove was assembled and successfully worn by a pilot user to validate initial findings in comfort and effectiveness.  \nI. INTRODUCTION  \nSpasticity is a large contributor to motor impairment in individuals with neurological disorders, greatly limiting daily function and quality of life. A recent meta-analysis was conducted that revealed 25.3% of stroke patients developspasticity [1] . Spasticity also occurs frequently in other neurological disorders, with prevalence ranging from 20- 83% in patients with spinal cord injury, 50-66% in patients with multiple sclerosis, and 75-90% in children with cerebral palsy [2] . The advancement of rehabilitation devices has sought to augment or complement traditional physical therapy. Specifically, soft, wearable robotics are promising in improving motor function and enabling repetitive motion training in spastic populations. This potential is evidenced  \nThis work was supported by the US National Science Foundation under Grant 2502197 . (Corresponding author: Jacqueline Libby)  \n1Antonia Salluce, Maeryn Erdheim, Gailen Davis, Lauren H. Sullivan, and Max-William Kanz are with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, 1 Castle Point Terrace, Hoboken, NJ, 07030, USA [asalluce@stevens.edu](asalluce@stevens.edu) , [merdheim@stevens.edu](merdheim@stevens.edu) , [gdavis3@stevens.edu](gdavis3@stevens.edu) , [lsulliv1@stevens.edu](lsulliv1@stevens.edu) , [mkanz@stevens.edu](mkanz@stevens.edu)  \n[2](2 Antonia Salluce and Maeryn Erdheim contributed equally to this article.)[ Antonia Salluce and Maeryn Erdheim contributed equally to this article.](2 Antonia Salluce and Maeryn Erdheim contributed equally to this article.)  \n3Jacqueline Libby is with Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, 1 Castle Point Terrace, Hoboken, NJ, 07030, USA [jlibby@stevens.edu](jlibby@stevens.edu)  \nby the development of soft robotic gloves for both assistive and at-home hand rehabilitation [3] .  \nWithin this class of soft, wearable systems, cable-driven robotic exogloves have become a widely adopted solution in assisting with the opening and closing of the hand for stroke rehabilitation. Cable-driven hand rehabilitation devices typically employ tendon or Bowden cable tr","cbCaipR4pXP1gUvN","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipR4pXP1gUvN","pdf",3291915,1,8,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Background and prevalence of spasticity\n## Limitations of cable-driven exogloves\n## Advantages of pneumatic soft actuators\n## Gap: pain reduction and stiffness mitigation","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the proposed soft robotic exoglove target?\",\"answer\":\"It targets hand spasticity and the resulting pain, aiming to address both mobility impairment and muscle stiffness relaxation in people with neurological conditions.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the exoglove provide both mobility support and pain-relief effects?\",\"answer\":\"It uses soft pneumatic actuators to support targeted hand mobility while also administering massage-like compression to relax spastic muscles.\"},{\"question\":\"What engineering approach was used to design and validate the pneumatic actuators?\",\"answer\":\"The actuators were 3D modeled and analyzed using finite element modeling under pressures of 100 and 200 kPa, with geometry optimized before fabrication and experimental testing, followed by initial pilot wear for comfort and effectiveness.\"}]",1784200531,20,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"towards-soft-robotic-exogloves-for-musculoskeletal-manipulation-to-reduce-pain-and-spasticity","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,53,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,47,50],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":46},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/towards-soft-robotic-exogloves-for-musculoskeletal-manipulation-to-reduce-pain-and-spasticity/85035/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":40,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-16",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"What problem does the proposed soft robotic exoglove target?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"It targets hand spasticity and the resulting pain, aiming to address both mobility impairment and muscle stiffness relaxation in people with neurological conditions.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"How does the exoglove provide both mobility support and pain-relief effects?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"It uses soft pneumatic actuators to support targeted hand mobility while also administering massage-like compression to relax spastic muscles.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What engineering approach was used to design and validate the pneumatic actuators?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The actuators were 3D modeled and analyzed using finite element modeling under pressures of 100 and 200 kPa, with geometry optimized before fabrication and experimental testing, followed by initial pilot wear for comfort and 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