ROBOTICS FOR REHABILITATION THERAPY

该项目的目的是开发一种用于临床上肢运动康复的机器人外骨骼。该项目有三个主要目标。首先，机器人将为关键动作提供运动训练，如：手腕旋后、手腕伸展、肩部外旋和手部张开。研究人员将在气动控制技术的基础上增加机器人的自由度，并改变机器人外骨骼的基本几何结构，从而解决技术问题，同时保持机器人的重量轻、功能强大和安全。第二个目标是通过改进控制机器人如何辅助移动的高级控制软件，最大限度地提高机器人设备的可塑性。第三个目标是测试这一假设，即在机器人康复治疗期间包括更自然的运动和最优的辅助措施，可以改善中风后的运动结果。

The purpose of the project is to develop a robotic exoskeleton for clinical rehabilitation of upper extremity movement. The project has three main goals. First, the robot will provide movement training for key motions such as: wrist supination, wrist extension, shoulder external rotation and hand opening. The investigators will solve the technical issues by adding more degrees of freedom to the robot while keeping it light-weight, powerful, and safe by building on advances in pneumatic control, and altering the underlying geometric structure of the robotic exoskeleton. The second goal is to maximize the capability of the robotic device to provoke plasticity by improving the high-level control software that dictates how the robot assists movement. The third goal is to test the hypothesis that inclusion of more naturalistic movements and optimal assistance during robotic rehabilitation therapy improves motor outcomes following stroke.