Smart, säker och lokalt värmande artroshandske

Abstract

The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to develop an electric glove for heat treat ment of osteoarthritis in the middle finger’s outer joint. Heating, comfort and safety are the central considerations of this work. The main elements of the osteoarthritis glove are the electrical circuit for regulating current flow to the heating element and the fabrics of which the glove is made up of. Previous studies have found varying results regarding finger osteoarthritis treatment, however, heat is a promising treat ment method. A thin nichrome wire, powered by four AA batteries, was used as the heating element in the glove. The results show that the glove reaches temperatures between 77.2 ◦C and 91.5 ◦C after approximately 300 seconds depending on the out put current. These temperatures exceed average human comfort levels. Furthermore, when compared to theoretical calculations, the test results show anomalies indica ting incorrectly conducted tests. While the quantitative results still show moderate promise for heating a glove with conductive wire, further research is needed to make the glove’s heating function stable. To determine its pain relieving properties for people with finger osteoarthritis and to receive rigourous results, large scale clinical studies are critical.