Transforming Robot-mediated Telerehabilitation: Citizen Science for Rehabilitation

1604355 - PorfiriRobotic设备在物理康复中发挥着越来越重要的作用，因为它们能够支持越来越多的治疗，最大限度地减少治疗师的时间承诺，并记录患者的表现。为了进一步将康复治疗扩展到临床环境之外并提高康复进度，已经投入了相当大的努力来进行机器人介导的远程康复，其允许物理治疗师同时远程监测和监督多个患者。然而，这些设备的成本和规定的练习的重复性大大阻碍了机器人介导的远程康复的实用性。该项目将通过将治疗性治疗与低成本触觉设备和互动式在线公民科学活动相结合，为改造机器人介导的远程康复开辟新的方向。在设想的范例中，参与者将通过执行作为其治疗团的一部分的活动来为公民科学做出贡献，从而增加花费在其他无聊的康复活动上的时间。这种整合预计不仅有助于科学研究，而且还能提高患者的自尊心。该研究项目旨在通过积极的科学参与来增强患者的能力，从而促进上肢机器人介导的远程康复。设想的系统包括一个低成本的触觉操纵杆连接到PC，这提供了在公民科学研究项目的在线社交互动。患者将为研究团队开发的环境监测公民科学项目做出贡献，通过分析纽约布鲁克林污染运河中水生移动的机器人获取的图像，同时与其他患者在线互动。通过利用病人在科学和环境方面的动机和兴趣，拟议的方法旨在最大限度地保留和努力康复。将使用触觉操纵杆进行分析，该操纵杆向患者提供力反馈，同时记录上肢康复的显著康复性能指数。该系统将在健康受试者和接受中风后轻偏瘫康复治疗的患者身上进行测试，通过一系列实验研究阐明力反馈和社会互动对患者表现和满意度的综合影响。

1604355 - PorfiriRobotic devices have been playing an increasingly central role in physical rehabilitation due to their capability to support an increasing range of therapeutic treatments, minimize therapist time commitment, and record the performance of patients. To further extend rehabilitation treatments beyond clinical settings and enhance rehabilitation progress, considerable effort has been devoted toward robot-mediated telerehabilitation, which allows a physical therapist to remotely monitor and supervise several patients simultaneously. However, the cost of these devices and the repetitive nature of the prescribed exercises have significantly hampered the practicality of robot-mediated telerehabilitation. This project will open new directions for transforming robot-mediated telerehabilitation, through the integration of therapeutic treatments with low-cost haptic devices and interactive online citizen science activities. In the envisioned paradigm, participants will contribute to citizen science by performing activities that are part of their therapeutic regiment, and consequently increase the time spent on otherwise-boring rehabilitation activities. This integration is expected to not only contribute to scientific research but also increase patient self-esteem. This research program seeks to advance upper limb robot-mediated telerehabilitation for patients recovering from stroke by empowering them through active science participation. The envisioned system comprises a low-cost haptic joystick interfaced to a PC, which affords online social interactions in a citizen science research project. Patients will contribute to an environmental monitoring citizen science project developed by the research team, by analyzing images acquired by an aquatic mobile robot in a polluted canal in Brooklyn, NY, while interacting with other patients online. By harnessing the motivation and interests of patients in science and the environment, the proposed approach aims to maximize retention and efforts towards rehabilitation. The analysis will be performed using a haptic joystick, which provides a force-feedback to the patient while recording salient rehabilitation performance indices for upper limb rehabilitation. The system will be tested on both healthy subjects and patients undergoing rehabilitation for post-stroke hemiparesis through a series of experimental studies that elucidates the combined effects of force feedback and social interactions on patient performance and satisfaction.