Rehabilitation robotics: adapting robot behavior to suit patient needs and abilities

Robotics offers one solution to the rising problem of rehabilitating victims of neurological injury and disease. Rehabilitation robots have proven successful in speeding recovery for recent stroke victims, and in reducing impairment and pain for chronic victims who were thought to have little opportunity for improvement. Such robots require high force capability with a closely controlled "feel", requiring low endpoint impedance. For complex robot configurations, a combination of backdrivable hardware design and impedance-reducing controller design may offer the best solution. A novel therapy algorithm that exploits similarities between motor recovery and motor learning adapts robot impedance to patients as they recover. Results of therapy using this algorithm are a substantial improvement over the original robot therapy.