Chen's PhD thesis, titled 'Wearable Orthoses with Semi-Active and Active Absorbers for Hand Tremor Suppression', demonstrates groundbreaking work addressing the limitations of existing hand tremor treatments, by developing novel flexible wearable orthoses integrating both semi-active and active schemes.

Key innovations in his research include:

• A semi-active absorber using self-sensing variable stiffness artificial muscle (SSVS-AM) to detect and suppress wrist and finger tremors.
• An active finger tremor-suppressing orthosis (AFTO) that effectively detects and suppresses finger tremors.
• Flexible capacitive pressure sensors integrated into the AFTO for enhanced tremor detection.
• A wearable hand tremor-suppressing orthosis glove (WHTOG) that combines both semi-active and active schemes.

These advancements represent significant progress in non-invasive medical solutions, offering promising new treatments for individuals with hand tremors and the potential to greatly enhance their daily lives.

Chen was supervised by Dr Ketao Zhang and Dr Lei Su.

The examination was conducted by Prof Jonathan Rossiter from the University of Bristol and Prof Zion Tse from Queen Mary University of London.