PEDIATRIC REHABILITATION OF UPPER LIMB FUNCTION USING NOVEL ROBOTIC DEVICE REACHMAN2

摘要

Studies of robotic therapy for adults with physical disabilitiesrndue to stroke have been an active field of research forrnthe last two decades and the results suggest that stroke patientsrncan benefit from this kind of therapy. Due to thernsuccess of robot-assisted rehabilitation in adults, it is reasonablernto believe that this approach may be well suited tornthe needs of children with physical disabilities. This paperrnpresents the results of a preliminary study of three childrenrnwith hemiplegic cerebral palsy, using the reachMAN2, arnnovel robotic device for the pediatric rehabilitation of upperrnlimb function. The device has two degrees-of-freedom torntrain pinching, forearm supination/pronation and wrist flexion/rnextension movements. An interactive computer gamernwas developed to increase subjects’ participation and engagementrnduring the robotic rehabilitation. Pinching, withrnthe index finger and thumb, forearm supination/pronationrnas well as wrist flexion/extension were trained two or threerntimes a week for 15 minutes each. There was a total of 10rntraining sessions in four weeks. The results showed significantrnimprovement in movement precision, range of motionrnas well as motor skill measurements using the Bruininks-rnOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-rn2).