[Application of robots in the upper limb physiotherapy of patients with hemiparesis].

OBJECTIVE

Authors describe the robotic physiotherapy system developed in the scope of Reharob project belonging to the 5th Framework Programme of the European Union. The system is able to execute robot mediated physiotherapy of the shoulder and the elbow of patients with spastic hemiparesis. Due to the fact, that spasticity is velocity dependent, it is important to execute the exercises with a relatively slow and constant velocity. In such cases a robot can support the work of the physiotherapist first of all when delivering exercises with high repetition number. The objective of the first clinical trial was to gain experiences with the system, to prove its functionality and security.

METHOD: 4 healthy subjects and 8 patients with spastic hemiparesis were given 30 minutes long robot mediated physiotherapy on 20 consecutive days.

RESULTS

During 240 therapeutic events the robots executed the exercises according to the programme established by the physiotherapist, without any significant mechanical problem or dangerous situation.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical trial confirmed the functionality of the Reharob Therapeutic System. The development of the system will be continued according to the experiences gained during the trial.