Transforming Robot-mediated Telerehabilitation: Citizen Science for Rehabilitation

Feasibility of a Kinect-Based Citizen Science Telerehabilitation Platform

The purpose of this study is to advance upper limb robot-mediated tele-rehabilitation for patients recovering from stroke by empowering them through active science participation. By varying the tasks' features and affordances of a platform that combines a low-cost haptic device on one hand, and an online citizen science platform on the other, investigators will evaluate different strategies for social telerehabilitation. the two fundamental modes of social interaction - competition and cooperation - in addition to a control condition. Specifically, citizen science activities will be performed by competing, cooperating, or isolated users, and their rehabilitation effectiveness examined. Such effectiveness will be measured by (i) participants' rehabilitation performance (inferred from sensorimotor data acquired through the platform and directly quantified by a supervising therapist); (ii) participants' motivations to contribute (measured through surveys administered online); and (iii) participants' emotional well-being and sense of self-esteem (measured through online surveys).

Inclusion Criteria:

For treatment group:

• post-stroke hemiparesis >3 months
• ability to stand or sit independently
• sufficient cognitive skills to perform the exercises as demonstrated
• full passive range of motion in the affected arm but limited active movement as determined by a upper extremity Fugl-Meyer score of <50/66
• technical savvy and interest to use an internet platform

For control group:

(ii) no history of learning disabilities (iii) technical savvy and interest to use an internet platform

Exclusion Criteria:

For treatment group:

• visual deficit such as deficit in visual acuity, eye movements, visual field cut, or neglect
• medical comorbidity such as other neurological conditions (e.g. Parkinson's disease, brain tumor, epilepsy), or previous injury to the upper limb
• pain in the upper limbs that prevents full passive range of motion to perform the exercises.

For control group:

• visual deficit such as deficit in visual acuity, eye movements, visual field cut, or neglect
• any previous injury or medical condition that prevents full passive range of motion to perform the exercises.