title: Robot-aided therapy on the upper limb of subacute and chronic stroke patients: a biomechanical approach.
abstract: The goal of this study is to propose a methodology for evaluating recovery mechanisms in subacute and chronic post-stroke patients after a robot-aided upper-limb therapy, using a set of biomechanical parameters. Fifty-six post-stroke subjects, thirteen subacute and forty-three chronic patients participated in the study. A 2 dof robotic system, implementing an "assist-as-needed" control strategy, was used. Biomechanical parameters related (i) to the speed measured at the robot's end-effector and (ii) to the movement's smoothness were computed. Outcome clinical measures show a decrease in motor impairment after the treatment both in chronic and subacute patients. All the biomechanical parameters show an improvement between admission and discharge. Our results show that the robot-aided training can contribute to reduce the motor impairment in both subacute and chronic patients and identify neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the different stages of motor recovery.
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy. s.mazzoleni@sssup.it
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazzoleni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filippi
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Carrozza
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Posteraro
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Puzzolante
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Falchi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult