Robotic therapy lower extremity stroke

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of a stretching and strengthening exercise program using an upper extremity robot, as compared with a conventional occupational therapy program for upper extremity spasticity in stroke patients. METHODS: Subjects were randomly divided into a robot-assisted therapy (RT) group and a conventional rehabilitation therapy (CT) group. RT group patients received RT and CT once daily for 30 minutes each, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks. RT was performed using an upper-extremity robot (Neuro-X; Apsun Inc...

BACKGROUND: Stroke rehabilitation in low- and middle-income countries, such as Mexico, is often hampered by lack of clinical resources and funding. To provide a cost-effective solution for comprehensive post-stroke rehabilitation that can alleviate the need for one-on-one physical or occupational therapy, in lower and upper extremities, we proposed and implemented a technology-assisted rehabilitation gymnasium in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Gymnasium for Robotic Rehabilitation (Robot Gym) consisted of low- and high-tech systems for upper and lower limb rehabilitation...

The MIT-Skywalker is a novel robotic device developed for the rehabilitation or habilitation of gait and balance after a neurological injury. It represents an embodiment of the concept exhibited by passive walkers for rehabilitation training. Its novelty extends beyond the passive walker quintessence to the unparalleled versatility among lower extremity devices. For example, it affords the potential to implement a novel training approach built upon our working model of movement primitives based on submovements, oscillations, and mechanical impedances...

Wearable robotic devices provide safe and intensive rehabilitation, enabling repeated motions for motor function recovery in stroke patients. The aim of this small case series was to demonstrate the training effects of a three-week robotic leg orthosis, and to investigate possible mechanisms of the sensory-motor alterations and improvements by using gait analysis and EMG. Three survivors of chronic strokes participated in robot-assisted gait therapy for three weeks. EMG signals from the rectus femoris (RF), tibialis anterior (TA), biceps femoris (BF), and medial gastrocnemius (MG), as well as kinetics and kinematics data of the lower limb, were recorded before and after the training...

BACKGROUND: This study was a prospective, randomized, open, blinded-endpoint trial with the aim of examining whether gait training with a gait-assistance robot (GAR) improves gait disturbances in subacute non-ambulatory hemiplegic stroke patients more than overground conventional gait training. The GAR adopts a robot arm control system with full weight bearing and foot pressure visual biofeedback. METHODS: Twenty-six hemiplegic patients were randomly assigned to either the GAR-assisted gait training (GAGT) group or the overground conventional gait training (OCGT) group...

Little is known about whether our knowledge of how the central nervous system controls the upper extremities (UE), can generalize, and to what extent to the lower limbs. Our continuous efforts to design the ideal adaptive robotic therapy for the lower limbs of stroke patients and children with cerebral palsy highlighted the importance of analyzing and modeling the kinematics of the lower limbs, in general, and those of the ankle joints, in particular. We recruited 15 young healthy adults that performed in total 1,386 visually evoked, visually guided, and target-directed discrete pointing movements with their ankle in dorsal-plantar and inversion-eversion directions...

BACKGROUND: There has been a growing interest in the use of robotic therapy to improve walking ability in individuals following stroke. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this retrospective study was to compare conventional physiotherapy (CP) with robotic training (RT) combined with CP and to measure the effects on gait, balance, functional status, cognitive function, and quality of life in patient with stroke. METHODS: We retrospectively identified 107 cases of new cerebral stroke...

The rapid advancement of robotics technology in recent years has pushed the development of a distinctive field of robotic applications, namely robotic exoskeletons. Because of the aging population, more people are suffering from neurological disorders such as stroke, central nervous system disorder, and spinal cord injury. As manual therapy seems to be physically demanding for both the patient and therapist, robotic exoskeletons have been developed to increase the efficiency of rehabilitation therapy. Robotic exoskeletons are capable of providing more intensive patient training, better quantitative feedback, and improved functional outcomes for patients compared to manual therapy...

BACKGROUND: Robotic training can help improve function of a paretic limb following a stroke, but individuals respond differently to the training. A predictor of functional gains might improve the ability to select those individuals more likely to benefit from robot-based therapy. Studies evaluating predictors of functional improvement after a robotic training are scarce. One study has found that white matter tract integrity predicts functional gains following a robotic training of the hand and wrist...

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND. Modular lower extremity robotics may offer a valuable avenue for restoring neuromotor control after hemiparetic stroke. Prior studies show that visually guided and visually evoked practice with an ankle robot (anklebot) improves paretic ankle motor control that translates into improved overground walking. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility and efficacy of daily anklebot training during early subacute hospitalization poststroke. METHODS: Thirty-four inpatients from a stroke unit were randomly assigned to anklebot (n = 18) or passive manual stretching (n = 16) treatments...

INTRODUCTION: The role of robotics in poststroke patients' rehabilitation has been investigated intensively. This paper presents the state-of-the-art and the possible future role of robotics in poststroke rehabilitation, for both upper and lower limbs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a comprehensive search of PubMed, Cochrane, and PeDRO databases using as keywords "robot AND stroke AND rehabilitation." RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In upper limb robotic rehabilitation, training seems to improve arm function in activities of daily living...

The people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) or post stroke hemiplegia are easily exposed to secondary problems due to limited mobility. A new wheelchair integrated lower limb exercise/rehabilitation system is proposed to help their daily living and rehabilitation. The system consists of three main modules: 1) an electric wheelchair, 2) a lifter which raises and supports the subject's body weight, and 3) a lower limb exoskeleton. This paper describes the concept of the entire system and configurations of the prototype...

BACKGROUND: Robotic neurorehabilitation, thanks to high dosage/intensity training protocols, has the potential for a greater impact on impairment. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to analyze how time since the acute event may influence the motor recovery process during robot-assisted rehabilitation of the upper limb. METHODS: A total of 41 patients after stroke were enrolled: 20 in subacute phase, i.e. ≤ 6 months elapsed since their unilateral cerebrovascular accident (CVA), and 21 at chronic stage, i...

BACKGROUND: Advances in our understanding of neuroplasticity and motor learning post-stroke are now being leveraged with the use of robotics technology to enhance physical rehabilitation strategies. Major advances have been made with upper extremity robotics, which have been tested for efficacy in multi-site trials across the subacute and chronic phases of stroke. In contrast, use of lower extremity robotics to promote locomotor re-learning has been more recent and presents unique challenges by virtue of the complex multi-segmental mechanics of gait...

Improvement in gait abilities is one of the important goals of stroke rehabilitation. The Walkaround is a new postural assistance device for gait training, which allows an early start for gait training. This device provides body postural support (BPS) and trunk orientation by means of a lumbar belt that is connected to a powered rolling walker. We conducted a randomized, single-blinded, 4-week clinical trial of 22 subacute stroke patients with a follow-up period of 6 months. Patients were divided into two identically sized groups: the treatment group (BPS), which was assisted by the Walkaround, and the control (CON) group, which was assisted by conventional means (cane, therapist) during gait training...

Neurologic rehabilitation interventions may be either therapeutic or compensatory. Included in this article are lower extremity functional electrical stimulation, body weight-supported treadmill training, and lower extremity robotic-assisted gait training. These poststroke gait training therapies are predicated on activity-dependent neuroplasticity. All three interventions have been trialed extensively in research and clinical settings to show a positive effect on various gait parameters and measures of walking performance...

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the analysis of hand preshaping using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to predict hand formation during reaching and grasping tasks of the hemiparetic hand, following a series of upper extremity motor intervention treatments. The purpose of this study is to use classification of hand posture as an additional tool for evaluating the effectiveness of therapies for upper extremity rehabilitation such as virtual reality (VR) therapy and conventional physical therapy...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of rehabilitation robot for lower-limb on motor function in hemiplegic patients after stroke. METHODS: Forty-eight hemiplegic patients were divided randomly into treatment (n = 24) and control (n = 24) group. The neuro-facilitation technique was applied for both groups. But the treatment group had also rehabilitation robot for lower-limb training of 10 - 20 min/d, 6 d/week for 8 weeks. All patients were assessed with the Fugl-Meyer lower limb (FMA), 10 m maximum walking speed (MWS), function ambulation category (FAC) classification and the modified Barthel index (MBI)at the time of beginning and 8 weeks later...

PURPOSE: The purpose was to compare the effectiveness of robotic-assisted body weight supported treadmill training using the Lokomat(®) to over-ground gait training (OGT) in adults with chronic stroke. METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to the Lokomat(®) or OGT interventions. Both protocols included 40 sessions over 8 weeks. Primary outcome measures were the 10-meter walk test and 6-minute walk distance. Secondary measures included the Functional Independence Measure(TM) locomotion score, Fugl-Meyer Lower Extremity Motor Score (FM-LE), Barthel Index, and Stroke Impact Scale...

Over the past decades, a large number of robotic platforms have been developed which provide rehabilitative treatments aimed at recovering walking abilities in post-stroke patients. Unfortunately, they do not significantly influence patients' performance after three months from the accident. One of the main reasons underlying this result seems to be related to the time of intervention. Specifically, although experimental evidences suggest that early (i.e., first days after the injury) and intense neuro-rehabilitative treatments can significantly favor the functional recovery of post-stroke patients, robots require patients to be verticalized...