A multi-disciplinary approach for effective hand rehabilitation with clinical-based assessment outcomes

In order to improve the functional ability of hand through the identified functional activities of daily living (ADL) and rehabilitation training, we have considered the fundamental issues that constitute systematic, objective and quantitative assessment together with the development of a hand rehabilitation system. The targeted rehabilitation groups are those patients with motor weakness, such as spinal cord injury (SCI) and post-stroke patients. To this end, a multidisciplinary approach for effective hand rehabilitation is presented and discussed. The approach can be served as a general guidance of the rehabilitation work to be carried out. The rehabilitation in clinical-engineering research aspects is also discussed. On the other hand, the clinical-based assessment methodology (covering sEMG, ROM, gripping/pinch force, and clinical outcome measures) has been proposed for the task specific hand rehabilitation system to reduce the gap between the clinical and engineering knowledge.