Self-assisted neurological rehabilitation

描述(申请人提供)：对于步态康复，鼓励患者参与的一个新方法是允许患者使用他们的上肢来辅助他们的下肢。一种改装的电脑控制卧式步进机将被用于研究自助式神经康复。卧式步进机的机械设计允许用户通过上肢和/或下肢的努力来驱动下肢的步进运动。一般的工作假设是，允许患者在踏步过程中使用他们的上肢来辅助他们的下肢将改善下肢神经肌肉的招募、运动学习和运动表现。此外，据预测，短期练习上肢和下肢踏步将转化为仅用下肢走路时运动能力的提高。这一研究计划的结果可能会导致新的步态康复设备的开发，从而增加患者的参与。然后，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，改善体能，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.