Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr 30;21(9):3130.
doi: 10.3390/s21093130.

A System for Neuromotor Based Rehabilitation on a Passive Robotic Aid

Marco Righi  1   2 , Massimo Magrini  1 , Cristina Dolciotti  3 , Davide Moroni  1
Affiliations

A System for Neuromotor Based Rehabilitation on a Passive Robotic Aid

Marco Righi et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

In the aging world population, the occurrence of neuromotor deficits arising from stroke and other medical conditions is expected to grow, demanding the design of new and more effective approaches to rehabilitation. In this paper, we show how the combination of robotic technologies with progress in exergaming methodologies may lead to the creation of new rehabilitation protocols favoring motor re-learning. To this end, we introduce the Track-Hold system for neuromotor rehabilitation based on a passive robotic arm and integrated software. A special configuration of weights on the robotic arm fully balances the weight of the patients' arm, allowing them to perform a purely neurological task, overcoming the muscular effort of similar free-hand exercises. A set of adaptive and configurable exercises are proposed to patients through a large display and a graphical user interface. Common everyday tasks are also proposed for patients to learn again the associated actions in a persistent way, thus improving life independence. A data analysis module was also designed to monitor progress and compute indices of post-stroke neurological damage and Parkinsonian-type disorders. The system was tested in the lab and in a pilot project involving five patients in the post-stroke chronic stage with partial paralysis of the right upper limb, showing encouraging preliminary results.

Keywords: computer graphics; motion analysis; prognostics and health; rehabilitation robotics; robotics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The body of the passive robotic arm called Track-Hold.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Track-Hold axes. The length of arm A (identified by a number inside a red circle) is about 2200 mm, arm B is about 1200 mm, arm C is about 1000 mm, arm D is about 250 mm, arm E is about 250 mm, arm F is about 250 mm, and G is about 250 mm.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The key-point marked with red and the cursor drawn using black lines.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Track-Task control panel.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The graph shows the 2D track view on a test square task. The blue line is the path that the patient had to follow, the red line is the executed path by the patient. Track on a test square Task (2D view).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The method used to calculate the one-dimensional array of angles from the series of points in space. 3D path to angle sequence.
Figure 7
Figure 7
A typical dispersion of the average values of the LF/HF indexes for the 5 subjects, on task 1.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Side view of the system, with operator monitor (laptop) and larger display monitor for the subject.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Rear view of the system, with red key-point and 3D cursor displayed on the subject’s monitor.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The figure shows for each subject (represented by the colored balls) a typical maximum angular excursion of the seven joints (numbered as in Figure 2). Subject’s, in degrees, for each of the 7 joints.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Udina C., Avtzi S., Durduran T., Holtzer R., Rosso A.L., Castellano-Tejedor C., Perez L.-M., Soto-Bagaria L., Inzitari M. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Study Cerebral Hemodynamics in Older Adults During Cognitive and Motor Tasks: A Review. Front. Aging Neurosci. 2020;11:367. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00367. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yilmazer C., Boccuni L., Thijs L., Verheyden G. Effectiveness of somatosensory interventions on somatosensory, motor and functional outcomes in the upper limb post-stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis. NeuroRehabilitation. 2019;44:459–477. doi: 10.3233/NRE-192687. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jiang Y., Lu H., Man Q., Liu Z., Wang L., Wang Y., Suo C., Zhang T., Jin L., Dong Q., et al. Stroke burden and mortality attributable to ambient fine particulate matter pollution in 195 countries and territories and trend analysis from 1990 to 2017. Environ. Res. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109327. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Takahashi J.C., Funaki T., Houkin K., Kuroda S., Fujimura M., Tomata Y., Miyamoto S. Impact of cortical hemodynamic failure on both subsequent hemorrhagic stroke and effect of bypass surgery in hemorrhagic moyamoya disease: A supplementary analysis of the Japan Adult Moyamoya Trial. J. Neurosurg. 2020 doi: 10.3171/2020.1.JNS192392. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yasaka M., Uchiyama S., Atarashi H., Okumura K., Koretsune Y., Yamashita T., Taniguchi A., Fukaya T., Inoue H. J-Dabigatran Surveillance Investigators. Dabigatran for Japanese Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Prior Stroke: A Subgroup Analysis of the J-Dabigatran Surveillance Program. J. Stroke Cerebrovasc. Dis. 2020;9 doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2020.104717. - DOI - PubMed
-