Browse the latest research summaries in the field of assistive technology for spinal cord injury patients and caregivers.
Showing 521-530 of 581 results
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 2019 • June 25, 2019
This study presents a wearable egocentric camera system for capturing quantitative measures of hand use at home for individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI). The system uses computer vision...
KEY FINDING: The algorithm achieved F1-scores of 0.74 ± 0.15 for the left hand and 0.73 ± 0.15 for the right hand when compared to manual video labelling.
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 2019 • June 5, 2019
The study presents a robot-assisted telerehabilitation system that allows therapists to feel the patient’s limitations over a distance using two arm therapy robots. Fifteen therapists tested the "Beam...
KEY FINDING: Therapists found the “Beam-Me-In” strategy to be a useful medium for evaluating a patient’s progress over time.
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 2019 • June 26, 2019
The study introduces a patient-specific computational model of the human musculoskeletal system controlled via EMG-derived neural activations, synthesized into an HMI for voluntary control of robotic ...
KEY FINDING: Patients with paresis can achieve continuous voluntary control of robotic exoskeletons using the developed EMG-driven musculoskeletal model-based HMI, even with paretic and spastic-like muscle activity.
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 2019 • June 25, 2019
This study compares two biofeedback methods, EMGb and Rb, during Lokomat gait training for sub-acute stroke patients. The aim was to determine how different biofeedback content impacts patient perform...
KEY FINDING: EMGb was more effective in reducing spasticity and improving muscle force at the ankle, knee, and hip joints compared to Rb.
Medicina, 2019 • July 24, 2019
This case report investigated the relationship between patient effort and robotic assistance during robot-assisted training (RAT) for a patient with spinal cord injury (SCI) and spasticity. The study ...
KEY FINDING: Spasticity improved, and the level of effort was reduced immediately after training in sessions other than the no-effort setting.
Curr Phys Med Rehabil Rep., 2019 • September 1, 2019
Body-worn sensors can accurately measure physical activity in free-living environments, potentially enhancing the understanding of barriers to adequate activity and identifying effective interventions...
KEY FINDING: Distance traveled is ranked as the most important outcome measure to quantify with sensors when working with individuals in manual wheelchairs.
Ann Rehabil Med, 2019 • August 1, 2019
The study aimed to evaluate the effects of combined upper limb robotic therapy (RT) compared to conventional occupational therapy (OT) in tetraplegic spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Both groups dem...
KEY FINDING: Combined upper limb RT demonstrated beneficial effects on the upper limb motor function in patients with tetraplegic SCI, which were comparable with conventional OT.
Progress in Rehabilitation Medicine, 2019 • January 1, 2019
This qualitative study reports on an individual with a complete C5 SCI who used a service dog and experienced improvements in all the components of the ICF. The study demonstrated that the participant...
KEY FINDING: The participant experienced “increased vitality and motivation,” and “emergence of self-affirmation” after using a service dog.
Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2018 • October 22, 2018
The study introduces an adaptive hybrid joint/end-point impedance controller for lower limb exoskeletons, aiming to combine the advantages of both joint and end-point space control methods for more ef...
KEY FINDING: The hybrid controller is a feasible approach for exoskeleton devices, combining the benefits of end-point control in shaping desired stiffness and joint control to promote correct angular changes.
Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2019 • August 21, 2019
This study investigated the impact of modulated task difficulty on learning a complex motor task using a rowing simulator. The experimental group, training with variable water density, showed potentia...
KEY FINDING: Both groups reduced error and variability, but the experimental group showed potential benefits for spatial consistency and velocity accuracy.