ARM ORTHOSIS FOR MOVEMENT TRAINING AFTER STROKE

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。该项目的总体目标是开发一种上肢训练系统，供中风患者在诊所或家中练习手臂和手部运动。本研究的目的是对手臂矫形器进行初步测试，该矫形器将作为训练系统的一部分辅助和测量手臂运动。本研究将在受保护的UCI环境中测试矫形器。这种矫形器是威尔明顿机器人外骨骼（WREX）的改良版，它是一种被动的反重力外骨骼，使用橡皮筋使手臂感觉失重。WREX最初是由Tariq Rahman博士（Rahman et al. 1995）设计的，用于肌肉萎缩症儿童的辅助装置。例如，身体太弱而无法移动手臂对抗重力的儿童可以通过将手臂放在矫形器中来自行进食和投掷球。WREX已经被我们的实验室按比例放大，作为成人中风患者的运动训练设备。在目前的研究中，我们将量化用矫形器减轻手臂重量如何影响中风后移动手臂的能力。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The overall goal of this project is to develop an upper extremity training system for use by people with stroke to practice arm and hand movement in the clinic or at home. The goal of the present study is to perform preliminary tests on an arm orthosis that will assist and measure arm motion as part of the training system. The present study will test the orthosis in a protected UCI environment. The orthosis is a modified version of the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX), which is a passive antigravity exoskeleton that uses rubber bands to make the arm feel weightless. WREX was originally designed by Dr. Tariq Rahman (Rahman et al. 1995) for use as an assistive device for children with muscular dystrophy. Children who are too weak to move their arm against gravity can self-feed and throw a ball, for example, by placing their arm in the orthosis. WREX has been scaled by our laboratory for use as a movement training device to be used by adults with stroke. In the present study, we will quantify how relieving the weight of the arm with the orthosis affects the ability to move the arm after stroke.