Development of Low Cost, Reconfigurable Robots for Neurorehabilitation
Date and Time: May 27, 2021; 4 PM PDT
Speaker: Dr. Michelle Johnson
Approximately 15 million people suffer a stroke each year and 70% of strokes occur in low and middle income countries where healthcare infrastructure and clinical resources are inadequate. Robotic devices can improve functional outcomes, increase access to and length of therapy, and maximize resources in a variety of rehabilitation environments. Meta-analyses and clinical trials show that rehabilitation outcomes with robots are comparable to standard and intensity-matched stroke rehabilitation and significantly improve functional outcomes in terms of motor control with low to modest improvements in ADL function. However, high costs limit access to robotic devices, relegating them to urban and large hospitals and rehabilitation centers making them less available to settings such as nursing homes, remote, rural,community-based healthcare facilities, or public rehabilitation clinics. A method to overcome such limitations could be to implement a modular and reconfigurable approach in the design of these systems, maintaining at the same time, a low-cost, high performance and a large versatility to multiple working conditions and scenarios. This talk will present an overview of the rehabilitation robotics field and highlight our efforts towards developing affordable and re-configurable robot systems for neurorehabiliation.