title: RUPERT closed loop control design.
abstract: Robot-assisted rehabilitation is an active area of research in the field of stroke rehabilitation. RUPERT is a wearable robotic exoskeleton powered by pneumatic muscle actuators. In this study, we described the structure of the controllers for the five degrees of freedom currently used by RUPERT. We applied the RUPERT on 6 stroke patients to provide robot-assisted rehabilitation therapy in a clinical study. Statistical χ(2) test on the proportion of successfully reaching targets showed that 3 out of the 6 patients demonstrated significant improvement in reaching targets successfully, and the remaining 3 did not show performance improvement or deterioration. We plan to implement the RUPERT in the patient's house for easier access and more frequent use. More significant performance results are expected.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Sivakumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balasubramanian
authors.forename: Ruihua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: Jiping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D001132:Arm; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D006801:Humans; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009989:Orthotic Devices; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*