The principal goal of this work is the development, testing and experimentation of a device for the hand rehabilitation. The system we designed is intended for people who have partially lost the ability to control correctly the hand musculature, for example after a stroke or a spinal cord injure. Based on EMG signals the system can «understand» the subject volition to move the hand and thanks to its actuators can help the fingers movement in order to perform the task. In this paper we describe the device and discuss the first results conducted on a healthy volunteer.

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Gait training of stroke survivors is crucial to facilitate neuromuscular plasticity needed for improvements in functional walking ability. Robot assisted gait training (RAGT) was developed for stroke survivors using active leg exoskeleton (ALEX) and a force-field controller, which uses assist-as-needed paradigm for rehabilitation. In this paradigm undesirable gait motion is resisted and assistance is provided towards desired motion. The force-field controller achieves this paradigm by effectively applying forces at the ankle of the subject through actuators on the hip and knee joints. Two stroke survivors participated in a 15-session gait training study each with ALEX. The results show that by the end of the training the gait pattern of the patients improved and became closer to a healthy subject’s gait pattern. Improvement is seen as an increase in the size of the patients’ gait pattern, increased knee and ankle joint excursions and increase in their walking speeds on the treadmill.

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Common actuators have important drawbacks for use in an exoskeleton type of rehabilitation (training) robot. Either the actuators are heavy, complex or poor torque sources. A new actuation system is proposed and tested that combines a lightweight joint and a simple structure with adequate torque source quality. It consists of a servomotor, a flexible Bowden cable transmission, and a force feedback loop based on a series elastic element. Measurements show that performance is sufficient for use in a gait rehabilitation robot.

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Robotics is emerging as a promising tool for training of human functional movement. The current research in this area is focused primarily on upper extremity movements. This paper describes novel designs of three lower extremity exoskeletons, intended for gait assistance and training of motor-impaired patients. The design of each of these exoskeletons is novel and different. Force and position sensors on the exoskeleton provide feedback to the user during training. The exoskeletons have undergone limited tests on healthy and stroke survivors to assess their potential for treadmill walking. GBO is a gravity balancing un-motorized orthosis which can alter the gravity acting at the hip and knee joints during swing. ALEX is an actively driven leg exoskeletonwhich can modulate the foot trajectory using motors at the joints. SUE is a bilateral swing-assist un-motorized exoskeleton to propel the leg during gait.

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Technology assisted therapy has the potential to transform rehabilitation options available, and to dramatically increase the reach of today’s healthcare system. Yet challenges persist in rendering translational application designs that optimize the full potential of technology and create value for the patient and the therapist. In a step towards optimizing value of technologies for practical applications to support very weak patients who might otherwise be unable to participate in traditional therapies, an integrated sensory motor training station was designed and developed. Inspired by recent neuroscientific research findings the goal of the design was to provide concurrent first person perspective immersive action observation of both virtual and real elements for motor and sensory experience; the system incorporates a virtual limb proxy that can be personalized and actuated by the robot and that is accompanied by exercise practice in peripersonal space for a plasticity promoting experience for the hand and arm. The station uses virtual reality and real objects for visual sensory experience, real objects also provide tactile sensory experience, and an exoskeleton upper limb robot provides assistance to patients. For many patients, successful movement and movement intensity required in rehabilitation is not achievable without the robot assistance. The multi-sensory features of the system promote a top-down strategy for training the upper limb (hand and arm) complementing the robot training; the system is ideally targeted for weak patients and those with tactile or proprioception sensory loss and those who are known to benefit from multi-sensory experiences.

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