Content - Volume 41, Issue 12

An estimated 30–60% of adult patients after stroke do not achieve satisfactory motor recovery of the upper limb despite intensive rehabilitation. Motor re-organization in adults also depends on substantial contributions from the undamaged motor cortex, with functional inhibition by the unaffected arm that has become dominant – a limitation that neuro-rehabilitation should counterbalance after ...

Objective: The aims of this study were to review robot-assisted motor and functional rehabilitation of the upper limb in patients with stroke and to outline possible clinical applications of robotics in neuro-rehabilitation. Methods: Available active systems, with actuators driving the paretic arm, were sub-classified by scientific rationale and mechatronic structure as exoskeletons or operation ...

Objective: To carry out a preliminary feasibility study of a new concept of robot therapy for severely impaired patients after stroke. Design: A haptic manipulandum connected to a bar that can rotate freely while providing a measure of the rotation angle. The controller combines a bilateral reaching task with the task of balancing the action of the 2 arms. Reinforcement is given to the subject i ...

Objective: To make a preliminary evaluation of the feasibi­lity of a robot-based rehabilitation protocol for the improvement of upper limb motor co-ordination in a group of patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients and methods: Seven patients with multiple sclerosis underwent a training protocol of 8 sessions. During each session patients performed reaching movements toward virtual targets pre ...

Objective: To verify the possibility of administering robot-aided therapy for the upper limbs in patients after stroke; to evaluate patients’ degree of acceptance and compliance with the treatment; to establish if the treatment has an effect on motor impairment and functional outcome. Design: Quasi-experimental, uncontrolled study. Subjects: Fourteen patients with chronic hemiparesis after s ...

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of robot-mediated therapy targeted at the motor recovery of the upper limb in chronic patients following neurological injury. Design: Pre-post treatment study. Subjects: Twenty patients were enrolled in the study. Methods: Robot-mediated therapy was provided to chronic hemiparetic patients (acute event had occurred at least one year prior to the study ...

Rehabilitation robotics is an emerging research field that aims to employ leading-edge robotic technology and virtual reality systems in the rehabilitation treatment of neuro­logical patients. In post-stroke patients with upper limb impairment, clinical trials have so far shown positive results in terms of motor recovery, but poor efficacy in terms of functional outcome. Much work is needed to de ...

This paper emphasizes the importance of developing kinematic and neurophysiological methods for evaluating motor and functional recovery in the field of neurorehabilitation. From a review of the literature, it is concluded that optoelectronic motion analysis and neurophysiological techniques, such as the study of nociceptive withdrawal reflex, might constitute useful applications for future resear ...

Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to examine changes in different aspects of impairment, including spasticity in the upper limbs, of hemiplegic children following botulinum toxin type A intervention. Progress was assessed using standard clinical measurements and a robotic device. Design: Pre-post multiple baseline. Subjects: Six children with hemiplegia. Methods: Botulinium toxin ty ...

Objective: To evaluate interjoint coordination in children with hemiplegia as they reach to grasp objects, in both static and dynamic conditions. An ad hoc robotic device was used to study the dynamic condition. Design: Observational study. Patients: Six children with hemiplegia and 6 young adults. Methods: Kinematics of the trunk and arm were studied using an optoelectronic system. In the d ...

Aim: To review the rationale, criteria of application, potentialities and limits of the available procedures for upper limb rehabilitation in virtual reality setups. Methods: Classification of the available virtual reality setups and comparison among published studies, with focus on the criteria of motor impairment and recovery assessment, rehabilitation procedures, and efficacy. Results and c ...

Robot ARAMIS (Automatic Recovery Arm Motility Integrated System) is intended to provide the therapist with novel and time/cost-efficient approaches to the rehabilitation of the paretic upper limb after stroke. The system has been designed and implemented based on common experience in rehabilitation and will provide a robot–patient interaction compensating for some intrinsic limitations of tradit ...

Objective: To describe the ARAMIS (Automatic Recovery Arm Motility Integrated System) project, a concept robot applicable in the neuro-rehabilitation of the paretic upper limb after stroke. Methods, results and conclusion: The rationale and engineering of a state-of-the-art, hardware/software integrated robot system, its mechanics, ergonomics, electric/electronics features providing control, saf ...

Objective: Telerehabilitation enables a remotely controlled programme to be used to treat motor deficits in post-stroke patients. The effects of this telerehabilitation approach were compared with traditional motor rehabilitation methods. Design: Randomized single-blind controlled trial. Patients: A total of 36 patients with mild arm motor impairments due to ischaemic stroke in the region of t ...