Intelligent rehabilitation in an aging population: Empowering human-machine interaction for hand function rehabilitation through 3D deep learning and point cloud

Zhizhong Xing^1*Zhijun Meng²Gengfeng Zheng^3*Guolan Ma¹Lin Yang⁴Xiaojun Guo⁵Li Tan¹Yuanqiu Jiang¹Huidong Wu^1*

• ¹Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
• ²North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, China
• ³Fujian Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
• ⁴Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
• ⁵South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

Human-machine interaction and computational neuroscience have brought unprecedented application prospects to the field of medical rehabilitation, especially for the elderly population, where the decline and recovery of hand function have become a significant concern. Responding to the special needs under the context of normalized epidemic prevention and control and the aging trend of the population, this research proposes a method based on a 3D deep learning model to process laser sensor point cloud data, aiming to achieve non-contact gesture surface feature analysis for application in the field of intelligent rehabilitation of human-machine interaction hand functions. By integrating key technologies such as the collection of hand surface point clouds, local feature extraction, and abstraction and enhancement of dimensional information, this research has constructed an accurate gesture surface feature analysis system. In terms of experimental results, this research validated the superior performance of the proposed model in recognizing hand surface point clouds, with an average accuracy of 88.72%. The research findings are of significant importance for promoting the development of non-contact intelligent rehabilitation technology for hand functions and enhancing the safe and comfortable interaction methods for the elderly and rehabilitation patients.