Articles

Development of a 3D, networked multi-user virtual reality environment for home therapy after stroke

Impairment of upper extremity function is a common outcome following stroke, to the detriment of lifestyle and employment opportunities. Yet, access to treatment may be limited due to geographical and transpor...

Authors: Kristen M Triandafilou, Daria Tsoupikova, Alexander J Barry, Kelly N Thielbar, Nikolay Stoykov and Derek G Kamper

Dissociating motor learning from recovery in exoskeleton training post-stroke

A large number of robotic or gravity-supporting devices have been developed for rehabilitation of upper extremity post-stroke. Because these devices continuously monitor performance data during training, they ...

Authors: Nicolas Schweighofer, Chunji Wang, Denis Mottet, Isabelle Laffont, Karima Bakthi, David J. Reinkensmeyer and Olivier Rémy-Néris

Automated functional upper limb evaluation of patients with Friedreich ataxia using serious games rehabilitation exercises

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a disease with neurological and systemic involvement. Clinical assessment tools commonly used for FRDA become less effective in evaluating decay in patients with advanced FRDA, part...

Authors: Bruno Bonnechère, Bart Jansen, Inès Haack, Lubos Omelina, Véronique Feipel, Serge Van Sint Jan and Massimo Pandolfo

Powered ankle-foot orthoses: the effects of the assistance on healthy and impaired users while walking

In the last two decades, numerous powered ankle-foot orthoses have been developed. Despite similar designs and control strategies being shared by some of these devices, their performance in terms of achieving ...

Authors: Marta Moltedo, Tomislav Baček, Tom Verstraten, Carlos Rodriguez-Guerrero, Bram Vanderborght and Dirk Lefeber

Sensor-based postural feedback is more effective than conventional feedback to improve lumbopelvic movement control in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomised controlled trial

Improving movement control can be an important treatment goal for patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Although external feedback is essential when learning new movement skills, many aspects of feedback...

Authors: Thomas Matheve, Simon Brumagne, Christophe Demoulin and Annick Timmermans

Effects of gait support in patients with spinocerebellar degeneration by a wearable robot based on synchronization control

Spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) mainly manifests a cerebellar ataxic gait, leading to marked postural sway and the risk of falling down. Gait support using a wearable robot is expected to be an effective so...

Authors: Atsushi Tsukahara, Kunihiro Yoshida, Akira Matsushima, Kumiko Ajima, Chika Kuroda, Noriaki Mizukami and Minoru Hashimoto

Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation plus tracking training therapy in people with stroke: an open-label feasibility study

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective neuromodulation adjunct to repetitive motor training in promoting motor recovery post-stroke. Finger tracking training is motor training whereby p...

Authors: Ann Van de Winckel, James R. Carey, Teresa A. Bisson, Elsa C. Hauschildt, Christopher D. Streib and William K. Durfee

Dual-task training of children with neuromotor disorders during robot-assisted gait therapy: prerequisites of patients and influence on leg muscle activity

Walking in daily life is complex entailing various prerequisites such as leg strength, trunk stability or cognitive and motor dual task (DT) activities. Conventional physiotherapy can be complemented with robo...

Authors: Sandra Ricklin, Andreas Meyer-Heim and Hubertus J. A. van Hedel

Economic benefits of microprocessor controlled prosthetic knees: a modeling study

Advanced prosthetic knees allow for more dynamic movements and improved quality of life, but payers have recently started questioning their value. To answer this question, the differential clinical outcomes an...

Authors: Christine Chen, Mark Hanson, Ritika Chaturvedi, Soeren Mattke, Richard Hillestad and Harry H. Liu

The role of exercise testing in predicting successful ambulation with a lower extremity prosthesis: a systematic literature review and clinical practice guideline

Growing discontent with the k-level system for functional classification of patients with limb loss and movement of healthcare toward evidence-based practice has resulted in the need for alternative forms of f...

Authors: Tyler D. Klenow, Larry J. Mengelkoch, Phillip M. Stevens, Chris A. Ràbago, Owen T. Hill, Gail A. Latlief, Rodrigo Ruiz-Gamboa and M. Jason Highsmith

Reference values for gait temporal and loading symmetry of lower-limb amputees can help in refocusing rehabilitation targets

The literature suggests that optimal levels of gait symmetry might exist for lower-limb amputees. Not only these optimal values are unknown, but we also don’t know typical symmetry ratios or which measures of ...

Authors: Andrea Giovanni Cutti, Gennaro Verni, Gian Luca Migliore, Amedeo Amoresano and Michele Raggi

Economic value of orthotic and prosthetic services among medicare beneficiaries: a claims-based retrospective cohort study, 2011–2014

There are few studies of the economic value of orthotic and prosthetic services. A prior cohort study of orthotic and prosthetic Medicare beneficiaries based on Medicare Parts A and B claims from 2007 to 2010 ...

Authors: Allen Dobson, Kennan Murray, Nikolay Manolov and Joan E. DaVanzo

Advancements in prosthetics and orthotics: overview of the Journal of NeuroEngineering & Rehabilitation’s special topic edition

Authors: M. Jason Highsmith, Phil M. Stevens, Michael S. Orendurff and Andreas Kannenberg

Energy storing and return prosthetic feet improve step length symmetry while preserving margins of stability in persons with transtibial amputation

Energy storing and return (ESAR) feet are generally preferred over solid ankle cushioned heel (SACH) feet by people with a lower limb amputation. While ESAR feet have been shown to have only limited effect on ...

Authors: Han Houdijk, Daphne Wezenberg, Laura Hak and Andrea Giovanni Cutti

The risk of major cardiovascular events for adults with transfemoral amputation

It is well-known that the risk of cardiac disease is increased for those with lower-limb amputations, likely as a result of the etiology of the amputation. Using a longitudinal population-based dataset, we exa...

Authors: Benjamin F. Mundell, Marianne T. Luetmer, Hilal Maradit Kremers, Sue Visscher, Kurtis M. Hoppe and Kenton R. Kaufman

Control within a virtual environment is correlated to functional outcomes when using a physical prosthesis

Advances such as targeted muscle reinnervation and pattern recognition control may provide improved control of upper limb myoelectric prostheses, but evaluating user function remains challenging. Virtual envir...

Authors: Levi Hargrove, Laura Miller, Kristi Turner and Todd Kuiken

Myocontrol is closed-loop control: incidental feedback is sufficient for scaling the prosthesis force in routine grasping

Sensory feedback is critical for grasping in able-bodied subjects. Consequently, closing the loop in upper-limb prosthetics by providing artificial sensory feedback to the amputee is expected to improve the pr...

Authors: Marko Markovic, Meike A. Schweisfurth, Leonard F. Engels, Dario Farina and Strahinja Dosen

Technical development of transcutaneous electrical nerve inhibition using medium-frequency alternating current

Innovative technical approaches to controlling undesired sensory and motor activity, such as hyperalgesia or spasticity, may contribute to rehabilitation techniques for improving neural plasticity in patients ...

Authors: Yushin Kim, Hang-Jun Cho and Hyung-Soon Park

Bilateral reaching deficits after unilateral perinatal ischemic stroke: a population-based case-control study

Detailed kinematics of motor impairment of the contralesional (“affected”) and ipsilesional (“unaffected”) limbs in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy are not well understood. We aimed to 1) quantify the...

Authors: Andrea M. Kuczynski, Adam Kirton, Jennifer A. Semrau and Sean P. Dukelow

Music meets robotics: a prospective randomized study on motivation during robot aided therapy

Robots have been successfully applied in motor training during neurorehabilitation. As music is known to improve motor function and motivation in neurorehabilitation training, we aimed at integrating music cre...

Authors: Kilian Baur, Florina Speth, Aniket Nagle, Robert Riener and Verena Klamroth-Marganska

Validation of wearable visual feedback for retraining foot progression angle using inertial sensors and an augmented reality headset

Gait retraining interventions using real-time biofeedback have been proposed to alter the loading across the knee joint in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Despite the demonstrated benefits of these conserva...

Authors: Angelos Karatsidis, Rosie E. Richards, Jason M. Konrath, Josien C. van den Noort, H. Martin Schepers, Giovanni Bellusci, Jaap Harlaar and Peter H. Veltink

Designing robot-assisted neurorehabilitation strategies for people with both HIV and stroke

There is increasing evidence that HIV is an independent risk factor for stroke, resulting in an emerging population of people living with both HIV and stroke all over the world. However, neurorehabilitation st...

Authors: Kevin D. Bui and Michelle J. Johnson

Exoskeleton assistance symmetry matters: unilateral assistance reduces metabolic cost, but relatively less than bilateral assistance

Many gait impairments are characterized by asymmetry and result in reduced mobility. Exoskeletons could be useful for restoring gait symmetry by assisting only one leg. However, we still have limited understan...

Authors: Philippe Malcolm, Samuel Galle, Pieter Van den Berghe and Dirk De Clercq

Correction to: Influence of body weight unloading on human gait characteristics: a systematic review

The original article [1] contained a major error whereby Figure 1 mistakenly displayed a duplicate of Figure 5.

Authors: Salil Apte, Michiel Plooij and Heike Vallery

Using an upper extremity exoskeleton for semi-autonomous exercise during inpatient neurological rehabilitation- a pilot study

Motor deficits are the most common symptoms after stroke. There is some evidence that intensity and amount of exercises influence the degree of improvement of functions within the first 6 months after the injury.

Authors: Imke Büsching, Aida Sehle, Jana Stürner and Joachim Liepert

Improving internal model strength and performance of prosthetic hands using augmented feedback

The loss of an arm presents a substantial challenge for upper limb amputees when performing activities of daily living. Myoelectric prosthetic devices partially replace lost hand functions; however, lack of se...

Authors: Ahmed W. Shehata, Leonard F. Engels, Marco Controzzi, Christian Cipriani, Erik J. Scheme and Jonathon W. Sensinger

Using principal component analysis to reduce complex datasets produced by robotic technology in healthy participants

The KINARM robot produces a granular dataset of participant performance metrics associated with proprioceptive, motor, visuospatial, and executive function. This comprehensive battery includes several behavior...

Authors: Michael D. Wood, Leif E. R. Simmatis, J. Gordon Boyd, Stephen H. Scott and Jill A. Jacobson

A robot-based gait training therapy for pediatric population with cerebral palsy: goal setting, proposal and preliminary clinical implementation

The use of robotic trainers has increased with the aim of improving gait function in patients with limitations. Nevertheless, there is an absence of studies that deeply describe detailed guidelines of how to c...

Authors: Cristina Bayón, Teresa Martín-Lorenzo, Beatriz Moral-Saiz, Óscar Ramírez, Álvaro Pérez-Somarriba, Sergio Lerma-Lara, Ignacio Martínez and Eduardo Rocon

Predictive value of the pendulum test for assessing knee extensor spasticity

The pendulum test is commonly used to quantify knee extensor spasticity, but it is currently unknown to what extent common pendulum test metrics can detect spasticity in patients with neurological injury or di...

Authors: Alyssa Whelan, Andrew Sexton, Melony Jones, Colleen O’Connell and Chris A. McGibbon

Recovery of kinematic arm function in well-performing people with subacute stroke: a longitudinal cohort study

Most motor function improvements in people who have experienced strokes occur within the first 3 months. However, individuals showing complete or nearly complete arm function recovery, as assessed using clinic...

Authors: Gyrd Thrane, Margit Alt Murphy and Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen

Autonomous multi-joint soft exosuit with augmentation-power-based control parameter tuning reduces energy cost of loaded walking

Soft exosuits are a recent approach for assisting human locomotion, which apply assistive torques to the wearer through functional apparel. Over the past few years, there has been growing recognition of the im...

Authors: Sangjun Lee, Jinsoo Kim, Lauren Baker, Andrew Long, Nikos Karavas, Nicolas Menard, Ignacio Galiana and Conor J. Walsh

The effects of error-augmentation versus error-reduction paradigms in robotic therapy to enhance upper extremity performance and recovery post-stroke: a systematic review

Despite upper extremity function playing a crucial role in maintaining one’s independence in activities of daily living, upper extremity impairments remain one of the most prevalent post-stroke deficits. To en...

Authors: Le Yu Liu, Youlin Li and Anouk Lamontagne

Effect of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation in community-dwelling elderly people: a randomised controlled trial

Balance disorders are a risk factor for falls in the elderly. Although noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) has been reported to improve balance in young people, randomised control trials targeting com...

Authors: Yasuto Inukai, Mitsuhiro Masaki, Naofumi Otsuru, Kei Saito, Shota Miyaguchi, Sho Kojima and Hideaki Onishi

Assisting hand function after spinal cord injury with a fabric-based soft robotic glove

Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition that can dramatically impact hand motor function. Passive and active assistive devices are becoming more commonly used to enhance lost hand strength and dexterity....

Authors: Leonardo Cappello, Jan T. Meyer, Kevin C. Galloway, Jeffrey D. Peisner, Rachael Granberry, Diana A. Wagner, Sven Engelhardt, Sabrina Paganoni and Conor J. Walsh

Practice-based skill acquisition of pushrim-activated power-assisted wheelchair propulsion versus regular handrim propulsion in novices

Regular handrim wheelchair (RHW) propulsion is straining for the upper extremities and wheelchair users often experience overuse problems. A recent advancement in wheelchair technology that could assist users ...

Authors: Rick de Klerk, Thijs Lutjeboer, Riemer J. K. Vegter and Lucas H. V. van der Woude

Decoding the grasping intention from electromyography during reaching motions

Active upper-limb prostheses are used to restore important hand functionalities, such as grasping. In conventional approaches, a pattern recognition system is trained over a number of static grasping gestures....

Authors: Iason Batzianoulis, Nili E. Krausz, Ann M. Simon, Levi Hargrove and Aude Billard

Analysis of sensory system aspects of postural stability during quiet standing in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients

The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze quite standing postural stability of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients in respect to three sensory systems (visual, vestibular, and somatosensory).

Authors: Taeyong Sim, Hakje Yoo, Dongjun Lee, Seung-Woo Suh, Jae Hyuk Yang, Hyunggun Kim and Joung Hwan Mun

Influence of body weight unloading on human gait characteristics: a systematic review

Body weight support (BWS) systems have shown promise as rehabilitation tools for neurologically impaired individuals. This paper reviews the experiment-based research on BWS systems with the aim: (1) To invest...

Authors: Salil Apte, Michiel Plooij and Heike Vallery

Randomized controlled trial of robot-assisted gait training with dorsiflexion assistance on chronic stroke patients wearing ankle-foot-orthosis

Robot-assisted ankle-foot-orthosis (AFO) can provide immediate powered ankle assistance in post-stroke gait training. Our research team has developed a novel lightweight portable robot-assisted AFO which is ca...

Authors: Ling-Fung Yeung, Corinna Ockenfeld, Man-Kit Pang, Hon-Wah Wai, Oi-Yan Soo, Sheung-Wai Li and Kai-Yu Tong

Effects of a powered ankle-foot orthosis on perturbed standing balance

Lower extremity exoskeletons are mainly used to provide stepping support, while balancing is left to the user. Designing balance controllers is one of the biggest challenges in the development of exoskeletons....

Authors: Amber R. Emmens, Edwin H. F. van Asseldonk and Herman van der Kooij

SPARC: a new approach to quantifying gait smoothness in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Impairments in biomechanics and neural control can disrupt the timing and muscle pattern activation necessary for smooth gait. Gait is one of the most affected motor characteristics in Parkinson’s disease (PD)...

Authors: Yoav Beck, Talia Herman, Marina Brozgol, Nir Giladi, Anat Mirelman and Jeffrey M. Hausdorff

Coactivation index of children with congenital upper limb reduction deficiencies before and after using a wrist-driven 3D printed partial hand prosthesis

Co-contraction is the simultaneous activation of agonist and antagonist muscles that produces forces around a joint. It is unknown if the use of a wrist-driven 3D printed transitional prostheses has any influe...

Authors: Jorge M. Zuniga, Katsavelis Dimitrios, Jean L. Peck, Rakesh Srivastava, James E. Pierce, Drew R. Dudley, David A. Salazar, Keaton J. Young and Brian A. Knarr

Reliability, validity, and clinical feasibility of a rapid and objective assessment of post-stroke deficits in hand proprioception

Proprioceptive function can be affected after neurological injuries such as stroke. Severe and persistent proprioceptive impairments may be associated with a poor functional recovery after stroke. To better un...

Authors: Mike D. Rinderknecht, Olivier Lambercy, Vanessa Raible, Imke Büsching, Aida Sehle, Joachim Liepert and Roger Gassert

Rehabilitation robots for the treatment of sensorimotor deficits: a neurophysiological perspective

The past decades have seen rapid and vast developments of robots for the rehabilitation of sensorimotor deficits after damage to the central nervous system (CNS). Many of these innovations were technology-driv...

Authors: Roger Gassert and Volker Dietz

A novel sensor-based assessment of lower limb spasticity in children with cerebral palsy

To provide effective interventions for spasticity, accurate and reliable spasticity assessment is essential. For the assessment, the Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS) has been widely used owing to its simplicity an...

Authors: Seoyoung Choi, Yong Beom Shin, Soo-Yeon Kim and Jonghyun Kim

Mechanisms of electrical vasoconstriction

Electrical vasoconstriction is a promising approach to control blood pressure or restrict bleeding in non-compressible wounds. We explore the neural and non-neural pathways of electrical vasoconstriction in-vivo.

Authors: Mark Brinton, Yossi Mandel, Ira Schachar and Daniel Palanker

Trainer in a pocket - proof-of-concept of mobile, real-time, foot kinematics feedback for gait pattern normalization in individuals after stroke, incomplete spinal cord injury and elderly patients

Walking disabilities negatively affect inclusion in society and quality of life and increase the risk for secondary complications. It has been shown that external feedback applied by therapists and/or robotic ...

Authors: Daniel Schließmann, Maria Nisser, Christian Schuld, Till Gladow, Steffen Derlien, Laura Heutehaus, Norbert Weidner, Ulrich Smolenski and Rüdiger Rupp

Biomechanics and energetics of walking in powered ankle exoskeletons using myoelectric control versus mechanically intrinsic control

Controllers for assistive robotic devices can be divided into two main categories: controllers using neural signals and controllers using mechanically intrinsic signals. Both approaches are prevalent in resear...

Authors: Jeffrey R. Koller, C. David Remy and Daniel P. Ferris

The impact of ankle–foot orthoses on toe clearance strategy in hemiparetic gait: a cross-sectional study

Ankle–foot orthoses (AFOs) are frequently used to improve gait stability, toe clearance, and gait efficiency in individuals with hemiparesis. During the swing phase, AFOs enhance lower limb advancement by faci...

Authors: Kannit Pongpipatpaiboon, Masahiko Mukaino, Fumihiro Matsuda, Kei Ohtsuka, Hiroki Tanikawa, Junya Yamada, Kazuhiro Tsuchiyama and Eiichi Saitoh

Rehabilitation technologies and interventions for individuals with spinal cord injury: translational potential of current trends

In the past, neurorehabilitation for individuals with neurological damage, such as spinal cord injury (SCI), was focused on learning compensatory movements to regain function. Presently, the focus of neuroreha...

Authors: Kristin E. Musselman, Meeral Shah and José Zariffa