Enabling the Manipulation of Real Objects During Robot-Assisted Stroke Rehabilitation

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Project Summary/Abstract This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a unique robotic system for upper- extremity rehabilitation for stroke survivors that combines dynamic arm-support with manipulation of physical objects. The system will be developed by integrating a component called AirCradle™, to be designed and implemented during the proposed project, with Barrett Technology's existing Burt® medical device robot. Burt® is an FDA-listed upper-extremity rehabilitation robot that supports (as needed) the weight of a patient's arm and hand while the patient moves his/her arm to interact with on-screen games. Burt® offers guided assistance, visual and haptic feedback, and activities and assessments to both help train the patient and measure progress. Clinical studies have shown that Burt® can be used to improve patients' performance of gross arm-reaching movements. However, the system lacks a component suitable to train distal functions (i.e., the manipulation of objects). To expand the capabilities of Burt®, we propose to develop the AirCradle™ system. The AirCradle™ is a hardware and software “add-on” to the base Burt® system that enables the patient to manipulate real objects during goal-driven gameplay while physically assisted by the Burt® robotic arm. An integrated camera system “reflects” the image of the patient in a mirror-like fashion while also tracking the state of physical objects. The software blends physical and virtual goals and gameplay with robot-assisted unweighing and target-guidance. The proposed Phase I activities are grouped into three aims. In the first aim, the team will develop the hardware at the end of the robot arm that physically connects to and guides the patient's arm while streaming rotary joint-angle positions to the base Burt robot. In the second aim, the team will develop a camera-based system to track the physical objects and present a mirror-like view of the patient and objects within the context of a goal-based virtual game. In the third aim, stakeholders consisting of rehabilitation specialists and stroke survivors will provide usability feedback via a focus group and a pilot study. This data along with the engineering testing and verification activities will be used to assure that “go”/”no-go” criteria are met before moving to Phase II. The long-term commercial and societal goal is to provide a flexible robotic therapy system that assists stroke survivors in interacting with and manipulating objects to provide sustainable and affordable therapy to increase their ability to perform activities of daily living.