Physically interactive robotic technology for neuromotor rehabilitation

Abstract

Robotic technology can provide innovative responses to the severe challenges of providing cost-effective care to restore sensory-motor function following neurological and biomechanical injury. It may be deployed at several points on a continuum of care, to provide precisely controlled sensory-motor therapy to ameliorate disability and promote recovery of function, or to provide assistance to compensate for functions that cannot be recovered, or to replace limbs lost irretrievably. This chapter reviews recent progress using robotic technology to capitalize on neural plasticity and promote recovery after neurological injury such as stroke (cerebral vascular accident), research on brain-computer interfaces as a source of control signals for assistive technologies, and research on high-performance multiple-degree-of-freedom upper-extremity prosthetic limbs.