REHABOTICS: Integrated Rehabilitation System for People With Motor Disabilities

REHABOTICS: Integrated Rehabilitation System for People With Motor Disabilities

The goal of the Rehabotics project is the development of a comprehensive rehabilitation system to provide highly individualized treatment of upper limb function in patients with motor disorders due to acquired brain damage (eg stroke) or neurodegenerative disease (eg sclerosis), having as central pillar the integration of robotic systems and support functions. A key part of the proposed system is the development and evaluation of an innovative robotic extraskeletal device that will be applied in the form of a glove to the diseased limb of the neurological patient.

The proposed robotic system:

1. will measure various motor and kinematic parameters of the extremity in order to assess the patient's condition and progress, and
2. will offer a specialized rehabilitation program (therapeutic exercises, retraining of functional movements and support of daily activities) through an interactive virtual environment provided by the Rehabotics platform.

The aim is to provide an environment for the provision of a high level of treatment and support services to patients with hand mobility disorders which will take place both in the clinical environment and in the patient's home through telemedicine applications.

To demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed system, Rehabotics will be applied on post-stoke patients for rehabilitation while also using a control group receiving traditional physiotherapy.

Inclusion Criteria:

• stroke pathology,
• Ashworth Scale ≤ 3,
• 6 months maximum time since the incident

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of neurological pathologies that affect hand motion (Parkinson's disease)
• Musculoskeletal deficits that affect normal finger range of motion (e.g. finger fractures, joint stiffness/pain, arthritis that affect joint motion)
• Ashworth Scale > 3,
• Over 6 months since the incident