Title :
Robotic rehabilitation exercise in hemiparetic limbs based on functional synchronization of voluntary and involuntary nerve impulses
Author :
Ueda, Jun ; Lacey, Lauren ; Turkseven, Melih ; Shinohara, Minoru ; Maliki, Arnold ; Kovalenko, Ilya
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Mech. Eng., Georgia Inst. of Technol., Atlanta, GA, USA
Abstract :
This research aims to characterize the neuromechanical mechanisms associated with the facilitation techniques for functional recovery of hemiparetic limbs, referred to as repetitive facilitation exercise or RFE. The research investigates the facilitation exercise paradigm and re-implementation with the addition of a pneumatically driven robotic device. A fully automated, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) compatible rehabilitation device is to be built to help validate the hypothesized mechanism of the RFE. The research will establish methodologies for precise impact timing control of a pneumatic robotic hammer and multimodal instruction cues to realize the robotic RFE procedure that is capable of being used in MRI environment. This paper presents the authors´ initial development that aims to understand the mechanisms of robotic RFE and addresses challenges that must be resolved.
Keywords :
biomechanics; biomedical MRI; medical robotics; patient rehabilitation; pneumatic control equipment; synchronisation; fMRI compatible rehabilitation device; fully automated functional magnetic resonance imaging; functional synchronization; hemiparetic limbs; involuntary nerve impulses; multimodal instruction cues; neuromechanical mechanisms; pneumatic robotic hammer; pneumatically driven robotic device; precise impact timing control; repetitive facilitation exercise technique; robotic RFE procedure; robotic rehabilitation exercise; voluntary nerve impulses; Magnetic resonance imaging; Muscles; Neurons; Pneumatic systems; Robots; Synchronization;
Conference_Titel :
Advanced Robotics and its Social Impacts (ARSO), 2014 IEEE Workshop on
Conference_Location :
Evanston, IL
DOI :
10.1109/ARSO.2014.7020990