Self-assisted neurological rehabilitation

描述（由申请人提供）：对于步态康复，一种鼓励患者参与的新方法是允许患者使用上肢来辅助下肢。一种改良的计算机控制的卧式步进器将用于研究自我辅助神经康复。卧式步进器的机械设计允许用户用上肢和/或下肢的力量驱动下肢步进运动。一般的工作假设是，允许患者在行走时使用上肢辅助下肢，将改善下肢神经肌肉的募集、运动学习和运动表现。此外，短期的上肢和下肢步行练习被预测为仅用下肢步行时运动表现的改善。这项研究计划的结果可能会导致新的步态康复设备的发展，增加患者的参与。这些设备可以在家里使用，允许个人更频繁地练习，这可能会加速运动恢复，改善健康，并改善整体健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): For gait rehabilitation, a novel way to encourage patient involvement is to allow patients to use their upper limbs to assist their lower limbs. A modified recumbent stepper with computer control will be used to investigate self-assisted neurological rehabilitation. The recumbent stepper's mechanical design allows users to drive the lower limb stepping motion with upper limb and/or lower limb effort. The general working hypothesis is that allowing patients to use their upper limbs to assist their lower limbs during stepping will improve lower limb neuromuscular recruitment, motor learning, and motor performance. Additionally, short term practice of upper and lower limb stepping is predicted to translate to improved motor performance when stepping with lower limbs only. Results of this research plan may lead to the development of new gait rehabilitation devices that increase patient involvement. These devices could then be used at home, allowing individuals to practice more frequently which may accelerate motor recovery, improve fitness, and improve overall health.