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Chapter 64 — Rehabilitation and Health Care Robotics

H.F. Machiel Van der Loos, David J. Reinkensmeyer and Eugenio Guglielmelli

The field of rehabilitation robotics considers robotic systems that 1) provide therapy for persons seeking to recover their physical, social, communication, or cognitive function, and/or that 2) assist persons who have a chronic disability to accomplish activities of daily living. This chapter will discuss these two main domains and provide descriptions of the major achievements of the field over its short history and chart out the challenges to come. Specifically, after providing background information on demographics (Sect. 64.1.2) and history (Sect. 64.1.3) of the field, Sect. 64.2 describes physical therapy and exercise training robots, and Sect. 64.3 describes robotic aids for people with disabilities. Section 64.4 then presents recent advances in smart prostheses and orthoses that are related to rehabilitation robotics. Finally, Sect. 64.5 provides an overview of recent work in diagnosis and monitoring for rehabilitation as well as other health-care issues. The reader is referred to Chap. 73 for cognitive rehabilitation robotics and to Chap. 65 for robotic smart home technologies, which are often considered assistive technologies for persons with disabilities. At the conclusion of the present chapter, the reader will be familiar with the history of rehabilitation robotics and its primary accomplishments, and will understand the challenges the field may face in the future as it seeks to improve health care and the well being of persons with disabilities.

Kineassist

Author  Discover Channel/Michael Peshkin

Video ID : 505

The Kineassist is a gait-training robot which rolls behind a patient and compliantly supports the trunk and pelvis. It enables patients to challenge the limits of their stability, catching them if they fall.

Ekso

Author  TedMed/Ekso Bionics

Video ID : 507

The Ekso device is a legged exoskeleton designed to help people with paralysis to walk.

ReWalk

Author  Argo Medical Technologies

Video ID : 508

The ReWalk is a legged exoskeleton designed to help people with paralysis to walk.

HAL

Author  DigInfo TV/Cyberdyne

Video ID : 509

HAL is a robotic exoskeleton suit which detects muscle activity and augments muscle forces.

Indego

Author  Parker Hannifin

Video ID : 510

Indego is a powered orthosis developed by Vanderbilt University and commercialized by Parker Hannifin, which is designed to help individuals with paralysis to walk.

REX

Author  Rex Bionics

Video ID : 511

REX, produced by REX Bionics, is an anthropomorphic lower-body robot designed to help users to stand from sitting, to ascend stair, to walk over ground, without the use of crutches.

Targeted reinnervation and the DEKA Arm

Author  Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

Video ID : 513

Claudia Mitchell, 28, of Arkansas, demonstrates advanced, multidegree control of the DEKA Research arm at The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Mitchell, who lost her arm in a motorcycle accident in 2004, underwent targeted muscle reinnervation in 2005. Video courtesy of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and DEKA Research. Learn more at www.ric.org/bionic.

PAM

Author  Daisuke Aoyagi, Jim Bobrow, Susie Harkema, David Reinkensmeyer

Video ID : 515

PAM is a 5-DOF pneumatic, gait-training robot which can assist a person with paralysis in walking naturalistically over a treadmill. PAM in this video is coupled with POGO, an pneumatic leg exoskeleton. PAM is compliant and automatically synchronizes to the patient's gait cycle using pattern recognition and time warping. PAM was developed at the University of California at Irvine.

HandSOME exoskeleton

Author  Peter Lum

Video ID : 568

A stroke patient's ability to pick up objects is immediately improved after donning the HandSOME orthosis. Springs provide a customized assistance profile that increases the active range of motion with only minimal decreases in grip force.