Socially Assistive Robotics for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation
By Mataric, Maja J.; Eriksson, Jon; Feil-Seifer, David J.; Winstein, Carolee J. ; Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, Vol. 4, No. 5Publication Date: 2007
Paper focuses on the use of an assistive mobile robot designed to aid in the rehabilitation of people who have had a stroke. The robot provides consistent monitoring, encouragement, and reminders while it follows the client's activity. For example, the prototype device could help to remind the client to participate in an independent home rehabilitation program. The robot participated in simple therapeutic interactions with patients post-stroke who were in the process of performing rehabilitation exercises such as basic arm movements and tasks such as shelving magazines. The approach involved the development of a safe, user-friendly, and affordable mobile robot, which was capable of following the patient in an indoor environment. The robot monitored the client's use of the stroke-affected limb, and provided encouragement, guidance, and reminders. The robot also logged the client's movement of the affected limb and kept track of rehabilitation progress for reporting to the physical therapist. The robot behaved in response to the sensed movements of the monitored stroke-affected limb, while it provided gentle reminders and prompting to the participant if the affected arm was not used for a predetermined period of time. The device also provided praise when the affected arm was used for a certain period of time. The robot was able to report on performance data to the rehabilitation staff, which could be used in tailoring the design of future programs.
Published by: BioMed Central Ltd (Website:http://www.biomedcentral.com)
Link to text: http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/pdf/1743-0003-4-5.pdf
