A new robotic platform developed by researchers in the US, which utilises both a patient’s brainwaves and muscle activity, aims to help post-stroke patients perform rehabilitation and regain critical motor skills.
The assistive robot includes a cutting-edge closed-loop feedback system to monitor the muscle and brain activity of the user in order to trigger the execution of reach and grab in an adaptive way.
The technology is being developed by Mariusz Furmanek, assistant professor of physical therapy and PI of the University of Rhode Island (URI) Motor Control and Rehabilitation Lab, alongside engineering professors Reza Abiri and Yalda Shahriari.
The researchers wrote: “Numerous rehabilitation approaches such as muscular electrical stimulations, brain-computer interfaces, and transcranial magnetic stimulation have been investigated to assist the affected individuals.
“Only sparse research has been conducted to show the efficacy of assistive planar robots in offering affordable independent solutions to address this demand.
“Designing and developing such robots with satisfactory rehabilitative outcomes could be crucial for high demand tasks such as repetitive motor training as intervention in the early stage of stroke.”
The project, which aims to make significant strides in rehabilitation methodologies, seeks advance the rehabilitation of upper-extremity motor functions for post-stroke patients.
It is hoped that patients will be able to more quickly recover neural plasticity, improving their brain capacity to continue growing and evolving, adapting and changing through the creation of new neurons and networks.
The user-centred robotic device can also provide occupational therapy in the patient’s own home.
Having a device at home, outside of the clinical setting, would mean more integration into daily life and more physical therapy for users.
Furmanek said: “Through cutting-edge technology, we envision a transformative impact on the rehabilitation journey for post-stroke individuals.
“The project focuses on developing a user-friendly wearable exoskeleton for adaptive assistance.
“Through a portable robotic training platform, we aim to overcome barriers, accelerate recovery, and advance the understanding of poststroke upper arm extremity rehabilitation.”
Image: Patrick Luce