Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Hand-printed'

The purpose of this study is to examine the position and use of an upper extremity prosthetic simulator on non-amputees. To see how a 3D printed prosthetic simulator can be optimized to serve the user correctly and accurately. In addition, this study examines the improvement of the Hosmer 5X Prosthetic Hook with the addition of newly designed trusses on to the prosthetic, as well as utilizing a new manufacturing method known as 3D printing. These topics are important because there is no standardized prosthetic simulator for schools and research facilities to use. Off the shelf prosthetic simulator cost upwards of $2000, often too expensive for early stage research. By optimizing the Hosmer 5X Prosthetic Hook with 3D printing, this new opportunity could allow amputees, from a range of income classes, to have access to a wide variety of prosthetics that are strong enough to support everyday living activities. A low-cost prosthetic that is easily distributable and accessible can give people a chance to regain their independence by giving them different options of efficient prosthetic devices, without having to spend so much. The devices in this project were design and analyzed on SOLIDWORKS, 3D scanned on the Artec Space Spider, and surfaced on Geomagic Wrap. Key results include developing a low-cost, robust prosthetic simulator capable of operating a Hosmer 5X Prosthetic hook, as well as developing a lighter version of the Hosmer 5X Prosthetic Hook that is more cost efficient and easily obtainable to the population around the world.

Hand-printed Chinese character recognition presents an interesting problem for Artificial Intelligence research. Input data in the form of arrays of pixel values cannot be directly mapped to unique character identifications because of the complexity of the characters. Thus, intermediate data structures are necessary, which in turn lead to a need to represent knowledge of the characters' composition. Building the intermediate constructs for these hand-printed characters necessarily involves choices among ambiguities, the set of which is so large that an efficient search algorithm becomes central to the recognition process. Schema labelling is a theory of how knowledge should be organized for recognition tasks in which composition structure is inherent in the domain, the composition entails ambiguity, and the ambiguity generates large search spaces. This thesis describes an implementation of an enhanced version of schema labelling for Chinese characters. The specific problems addressed by the enhancements, with some success, are (i) the segmentation of real images into objects usable by the schema system, (ii) the definition of schemas which adequately describe the generic composition of hand-printed Chinese characters, as well as common variations or vagaries, and (iii) the inclusion of sufficient "control knowledge" to prevent combinatorial explosion of the backtracking recognition process. Test characters for recognition systems can be classified along several dimensions. On the spectrum from type-set, through hand-printed, to hand-written forms, our system was tested on restricted hand-print, at a level somewhat more difficult than is normally attempted. On the spectrum of input types, from grey-scale pixel input through on-line stroke representations, our system was fully tested only at the high end, with complete synthetic strokes. We obtained a success rate of 57%, 12 out of the 21 characters tested. The principal success of the work is that characters of the complexity tested could be recognized at all, and in the impact schema labelling techniques had on that recognition.<br>Science, Faculty of<br>Computer Science, Department of<br>Graduate

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1995.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-120).<br>by Christopher Isaac Chang.<br>M.S.

This thesis sets out to investigate the changing social significance of the hand-block printed and resist-dyed cottons of Rajasthan. Once a vital part of the region’s everyday rural textile and dress traditions, communicating information about its wearers and demonstrating the craftsmanship of its makers, today block printed textiles are produced primarily for export and tourist markets. In the space of just a few decades the growing effects of globalisation have wrought irrevocable change upon this traditional craft. Under the pressures of new market forces, modern hand block printed textiles bear little resemblance to their traditional counterparts. Drawing on an ethnographic perspective in general, and an ethnomethodological perspective in particular, the main objective of this thesis is to develop a deeper understanding of traditional hand block printed and resist-dyed textiles – with particular focus on the modernisation of traditional forms of hand block printing in Rajasthan, and the various strategies and experiences which the craftspeople have undertaken to deal with the changes to the market for their products. Using the recent history of block printed cloth production in Rajasthan, as told by local artisans, it explores the manner in which such phenomena as modernisation and globalisation are embodied by shifts in production technology, design aesthetics, and market forces. In order to explore the rural roots and chart the dramatic recent modernisation of the craft this thesis identifies and documents the range of textiles traditionally made by the region’s hereditary communities of cloth printers and dyers, and investigates their role in the projection of identity, exploring the changing communicative function of these textiles, notably with the rise of synthetic fabrics, among the rural communities of Rajasthan. In doing so, this thesis investigates how the consumption of hand block printed textiles has changed over the past forty years and considers the impact of the growth of export and tourism on traditions of cloth printing in the region. It is a socially situated study, based on extensive firsthand fieldwork with the Chhipa community of hereditary cloth printers, making use of ethnography, photography, and personal experience of textile dyeing, printing and design. By developing methodologies based on the detailed documentation of the technologies, materials and processes involved in hand block printing this thesis seeks to update and expand upon the existing literature on the craft by providing and analysing contemporary accounts of family traditions and modern developments in use by current generations of artisans. In doing so this thesis also contributes to current discourse on the preservation of craft knowledge as a form of intangible cultural heritage. The study is primarily located within the field of Indian textile and dress studies. It contributes to contemporary ethnographies of textile crafts through the detailed analysis of print and dye technologies, and, by also considering the meanings and values of block printed cloth as clothing, adds to the literature on the social role of textiles and dress with a regionally-specific focus on the role of pattern and colour. By focussing on the communicative functions of pattern and cloth, it also enhances cross-disciplinary attentions to regional identities and intangible cultural heritage. Finally it engages with the very local processes of globalisation and the contemporary values of handcrafted cloth.

This thesis proposes an algorithm that determine the geometry of 3D-printed, custom-designed spring element bands made of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) for use in a wearable orthotic device to aid in the physical therapy of a human hand exhibiting spasticity after stroke. Each finger of the hand is modeled as a mechanical system consisting of a triple-rod pendulum with nonlinear stiffness at each joint and forces applied at the attachment point of each flexor muscle. The system is assumed quasi-static, which leads to a torque balance between the flexor tendons in the hand, joint stiffness and the design force applied to the fingertip by the 3D-printed spring element. To better understand material properties of the spring element’s material, several tests are performed on TPE specimens printed with different infill geometries, including tensile tests and cyclic loading tests. The data and stress-strain curves for each geometry type are presented, which yield a nonlinear relationship between stress and strain as well as apparent hysteresis. Polynomial curves are used to fit the data, which allows for the band geometry to be designed. A hypothetical hand is presented along with how input measurements might be taken for the algorithm. The inputs are entered into the algorithm, and the geometry of the bands for each finger are generated. Results are discussed, and future work is noted, providing a means for the design of a customized orthotic device.

This thesis presents the design and development of a hand-held electronic reader, designed to decode conductive patterns printed on a paper substrate. Data read from the patterns, by the reader, is used to trigger events in the digital domain. The reader and associated conductive patterns are devices for linking paper documents with the digital world. The patterns are formed by masking conductive-coated paper with a non-conductive, printed lacquer. The reader is a low cost and ergonomic device, capable of transmitting the embedded data from the conductive paper to the computer. The first reader designed and developed was tethered to a computer by data cable, using the USB communication protocol. The second design was developed further, with transmission of data achieved by replacing the cable with short-range Bluetooth wireless technology. Both devices were designed and developed using embedded systems and low cost electronic components. Additional work was undertaken to optimise the device's mechanical structure, ergonomics and integration of hardware. Alongside the development of the reader, test and development work was carried out to optimise the printed media, in materials and design. User trials demonstrated that the complete printed and reading system was functional, with varied rates of success among participants. Further work is required to improve the conductivity of the coated paper, and the accuracy of the decoding algorithm.

Purpose Conventional arm-prosthesis are expensive to make and therefore limit the availability for users on the geographical locations there the user pays for it. This study compares the hand function of a 3D-printed prosthesis with lower production cost with a traditional prosthesis. Method A test person performed two different tests of hand function (Box and Block test and Nine-hole peg test) with a myoelectric trans radial prosthetic arm and a body powered 3D printed trans radial prosthetic arm. The test person also answered two parts of the orthotics and prosthetics users’ survey (OPUS) considering both prosthetic arms. Result The 3D-printed prosthesis performed worse than the traditional prosthesis in the two tests of hand function and generally worse in the questionnaire about the function of the prosthesis. Though it got higher values in comfort and affordability. Conclusion There was a significant difference in function between the 3D-printed prosthesis and the myoelectric prosthesis but the printed prosthesis could perform many activities in daily living. Whether the 3D-printed prosthetic device is priceworthy or not is hard to measure because of different criteria, therefore a conclusion is hard to reach.

碩士<br>國立臺灣師範大學<br>資訊教育研究所<br>86<br>This thesis addresses the problem of off-line hand-printed alphanumeric character recognition. Character separation procedure was first applied to break-off interconnected characters. The isolated characters are then classified into the best 30 out of the 62 possible classes using Hidden Markov Models. The final recognition was carried out by a nearest neighbor classifier using 64 features obtained from Kirsch operators and 33 contour features. The experiments were carried out using 12400 characters from NIST special database 19 and 6820 characters from our collections of hand-printed characters. The recognition rate of 95.4%/98.82% for numeric data and 73.44%/93.12% for alphanumeric characters were achieved for the two datasets, respectively.

碩士<br>國立陽明大學<br>物理治療暨輔助科技學系<br>105<br>Background: Chronic stroke patients often have complaints about hand dysfunction due to flexor hypertonia and extensor weakness, which makes it difficult to open their affected hand for functional grasp. Past studies reported individual with stroke would reduce the independence. Hand rehabilitation after stroke is essential for restoring functional independence. Constraint-induced movement therapy has showed to be a successful treatment for patients who have acquired certain level of wrist and finger extension. The goal of this study was to investigate the feasibility of task-oriented approach incorporating 3D-printed dynamic hand device by evaluating hand functional performance and motivation during home program. Methods: In this study, 10 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=5) or the control group (n=5). The experimental group engaged task-oriented approach with dynamic hand device while the control group received only task-oriented approach. Both groups participated in 30-minute on-site treatment twice a week and were prescribed with home program 5 days a week for 4 weeks. During 2-week follow-up phase, all participants engaged in home program without following closely by therapist. Outcome measurements include palmar pinch force (PPF), lateral pinch force (LPF), grip force (GF), Box and Blocks Test (BBT) and Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA). Results: The results of study revealed the improvement of PPF in experimental group but not in control group. Meanwhile, improvement in LPF, GF, BBT, and FMA can be found in both groups. During follow-up phase, the mean time of home program in experimental group was 56.8 minutes per day but only 26.4 minutes in control group. This suggested significant enhanced motivation of executing home-based training. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the 3D-printed dynamic hand device is an effective therapeutic assistive device to improve pinch force, grasp force, dexterity, function of upper extremity and facilitate motivation during home program in individuals with chronic stroke.

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Mecânica apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia<br>O principal objetivo deste trabalho é a produção de uma prótese de uma mão, com baixo custo, através de impressão 3D. Através da utilização de um silicone dúctil nos dedos e na palma da mão, foi criada uma nova versão deste tipo de próteses, que se adapta muito bem às diferentes formas e tamanhos dos objetos, permitindo-nos ter um melhor coeficiente de atrito entre a prótese e os objetos, quando comparada com uma prótese sem este tipo de materiais. Depois da produção da prótese, esta foi testada por um voluntário com um transtorno congenital na mão direita e, como tal, os dedos desta mão estão em falta.Os avanços nos últimos anos em fabricação aditiva levaram à produção de próteses de membros superiores a baixo custo e baixo peso. A e-NABLE é uma organização não lucrativa que tem contribuído em larga escala para esta área nos últimos quatro anos. Esta comunidade desenvolve novos desenhos de próteses da mão e coloca-os no seu website para que qualquer pessoa possa fazer o download sem qualquer custo. As próteses da e-NABLE não possuem nenhum atuador ou sensores, portanto apresentam um baixo peso e custo. O movimento de abrir e fechar a mão é feito através da flexão e extensão do pulso, o que faz com que prótese possua um controlo muito intuitivo. A metodologia desta dissertação passou pelo uso de um programa CAD, para criar um desenho 3-D baseado na mão do voluntário e no conceito de prótese da e-NABLE. Contudo, a funcionalidade da prótese, foi melhorada graças aos materiais usados nos dedos e na palma da prótese. Para cada componente da mesma foi realizada uma análise com o intuito de remover partes desnecessárias e, consequentemente, diminuir o peso da prótese. A prótese final foi então montada e testada pelo voluntário, e através de várias iterações, uma prótese final ótima foi produzida.<br>The main objective of this work is design and development of a low cost soft 3D-printed body-actuated upper limb prosthesis. By integration of a soft silicone skin into the fingers and palms of the hand, we introduce a novel version of the prosthetic hand that adapts very well to various object shapes and sizes, and allows a better grasp of the objects due to a higher friction coefficient between the object and the elastic skin, when compared to a hand without the soft skin. In addition, the hand was tested by a volunteer with a congenital disorder as so, the fingers of his right hand are missing.Over the last few years, advancements in additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping, led to new designs of upper limb prosthesis at low cost and light weight. The e-NABLE, a non-profit community, has largely contributed into this field over the last four years. This community develops new designs of upper limb prosthesis and places them online for replication as well as contribution on the design. The devices made by e-NABLE community don’t pose any actuator or sensors in the prosthesis, as so, the prosthesis are light weight and low-cost. The closing and opening of the prosthetic hand is based on the movement of flexion and extension of the wrist, which makes the device very intuitive to control.The methodology of this work is to create a 3-D sketch of the prosthesis based on the hand of the person along with the concept of e-NABLE prosthesis. However, by taking advantage of a soft skin, we improve the hands functionality, i.e. the number of grasps it can perform. After each component is printed, an analysis of the component is made to see if there is any material that can be removed to decrease the weight of the prosthesis.For each of the components of the body-actuated hand, we analysed the actual problems and proposed, designed, developed and tested a new solution. Afterwards, the final assembly was tested and validated through several iterations involving the volunteer in the decision making loop.

碩士<br>國立中興大學<br>生醫工程研究所<br>106<br>Upper limb disability has highest rate among the physical disabled people in the country. With the development of robotics and 3D printing technology in recent years, mechanized functional prostheses have been widely developed. However, the below elbow prosthetic on the market can only control the palm or achieve the pre-set action. The most degrees of freedom is only six axes, including the five finger and thumb opposition. Also, they need at least 10 pieces of EMG electrodes to achieve the gesture movement. It will result the much longer time when user training. The six axes also will be inconvenience on some normal life movement. Therefore, this research designed and developed a three-channel multi-axis 3D printing prosthetic system. This system consists of two parts: the training interface and the prosthetic arm. The training interface is built by Labview, and the prosthetic arm is made by 3D printer. Employ the idea of mode switching in this research, we can reduce the number of electrodes while maintaining the number of gestures. Our prosthetic also has two more degrees of freedom than other products. The 3D printing technology also helps reduce the time and money costs. Hope this research can provide much more humanized prosthetic to patients.