A Novel Design of Guardian Glove for Paralyzed Patients

Abstract

Human beings have a natural ability to express themselves and interact with their external environment. Unfortunately, there are some people who have lost their ability to express due to some tragedy. Around 40% of all accidents in our country result in the victims being in some sort of paralyzed state. About 768 people in just a population of 1 lakh suffer from hemiplegia, a condition that paralyses critical parts of the body (including limbs and facial muscles). Being unable to move or even speak properly, these people need to rely on other’s help for their daily needs. Our proposed device is a necessity for any person unable to speak and move whether it is a paralysis patient or an old person bedridden due to a stroke. This smart glove allows the wearer to ask for help via several encoded (audio-visual) messages in cases of urgency. This way, there is no need for an individual to be with the patient 24x7 because the patient can remotely communicate his/her needs. This project can find its use in every hospital bed but it shall be most useful for patients at home. Secondly, the glove keeps a database of the patient’s needs with timings which can be later analyzed by the doctor to keep a better medical record and further aid the treatment. This is a quick and effective way to establish communication between a patient and the care-taker which, at times, proves to be the point of difference between life and death. We understand the needs of the people in such medical conditions and hence propose a useful device to assist them.