Modeling and Evaluation of a Novel Hybrid-Driven Compliant Hand Exoskeleton Based on Human-Machine Coupling Model

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Congratulations, the topic taken up is extremely important, and taking up the topic of developing a hybrid hand exoskeleton opens up new possibilities in the rehabilitation process.
From my point of view, the presented approach to modeling (analytical and using Matlab) of the hand exoskeleton as well as the development and implementation of a prototype model as well as tests and research do not raise my objections, have been presented in a comprehensible and transparent manner.
The adopted methodology, work structure, graphic presentation do not raise any objections, at a good level.
The presentation of the test results is somewhat insufficient, but I understand that these were preliminary tests.
I noticed minor shortcomings related to the preparation of the text, e.g. different fonts used: patterns and their numbering (2-7) and I propose that the drawings (fig. 6, 8, 9, 11-13) should be a little larger.
The final conclusions should be expanded, now they are rather general in nature.
Please note that each medical case (e.g. rehabilitation) may be different and will require, for example, different forces and load moments for the fingers - then the tests should be performed with great care and attention to the patient's health in the presence of a doctor, in compliance with all legal regulations.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Modeling and Evaluation of a Novel Hybrid-driven Compliant Hand Exoskeleton Based on Human-machine Coupling Model”.

Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to us. We have studied comments carefully notation and have made corrections which we hope meet with approval. Revised portions are marked by using the revising tool indicating changes in this revised paper.

Please check out our response as follow file.

Best regards,

Hongliu Yu, Qiaoling Meng et al.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript is well written and the idea is innovative. Here are some minor comments that could be addressed to further increase the impact of the paper. 

1) While the modeling as well as the implementation of passive devices was clearly mentioned, the implementation of the tendons could be further made clear with a schematic diagram of the entire system. 

2) While this comment might be hard to address for the current manuscript, the impact of the research could be well established by testing in on target population or even able bodied population using popular clinical evaluations such as the block test etc. Showcasing an improvement in practical applications would validate the impact of the design. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Modeling and Evaluation of a Novel Hybrid-driven Compliant Hand Exoskeleton Based on Human-machine Coupling Model”.

Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to us. We have studied comments carefully notation and have made corrections which we hope meet with approval. Revised portions are marked by using the revising tool indicating changes in this revised paper.

Please check out our response as follow file.

Best regards,

Hongliu Yu, Qiaoling Meng et al.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx