Articles

Compliant lower limb exoskeletons: a comprehensive review on mechanical design principles

Exoskeleton technology has made significant advances during the last decade, resulting in a considerable variety of solutions for gait assistance and rehabilitation. The mechanical design of these devices is a...

Authors: Maria del Carmen Sanchez-Villamañan, Jose Gonzalez-Vargas, Diego Torricelli, Juan C. Moreno and Jose L. Pons

Deficits in tapping accuracy and variability in tremor patients

The basal ganglia and cerebellum are brain structures involved in movement initiation, execution and termination. They are thought to be involved in the tremor generation and movement deficits in Parkinson’s d...

Authors: Frauke Luft, Sarvi Sharifi, Winfred Mugge, Alfred C. Schouten, Lo J. Bour, Anne-Fleur van Rootselaar, Peter H. Veltink and Tijtske Heida

Technology-aided assessments of sensorimotor function: current use, barriers and future directions in the view of different stakeholders

There is growing interest in the use of technology in neurorehabilitation, from robotic to sensor-based devices. These technologies are believed to be excellent tools for quantitative assessment of sensorimoto...

Authors: Camila Shirota, Sivakumar Balasubramanian and Alejandro Melendez-Calderon

Visual attention, EEG alpha power and T7-Fz connectivity are implicated in prosthetic hand control and can be optimized through gaze training

Prosthetic hands impose a high cognitive burden on the user that often results in fatigue, frustration and prosthesis rejection. However, efforts to directly measure this burden are sparse and little is known ...

Authors: J. V. V. Parr, S. J. Vine, M. R. Wilson, N. R. Harrison and G. Wood

Correction to: Boosting robot-assisted rehabilitation of stroke hemiparesis by individualized selection of upper limb movements – a pilot study

The original article [1] contained a minor error in the following sentence in the Discussion:

Authors: Orna Rosenthal, Alan M. Wing, Jeremy L. Wyatt, David Punt, Briony Brownless, Chit Ko-Ko and R. Christopher Miall

Effects of repeated waist-pull perturbations on gait stability in subjects with cerebellar ataxia

Damage to the cerebellum can affect neural structures involved in locomotion, causing gait and balance disorders. However, the integrity of cerebellum does not seem to be critical in managing sudden and unexpe...

Authors: Federica Aprigliano, Dario Martelli, Jiyeon Kang, Sheng-Han Kuo, Un J. Kang, Vito Monaco, Silvestro Micera and Sunil K. Agrawal

Grip control and motor coordination with implanted and surface electrodes while grasping with an osseointegrated prosthetic hand

Replacement of a lost limb by an artificial substitute is not yet ideal. Resolution and coordination of motor control approximating that of a biological limb could dramatically improve the functionality of pro...

Authors: Enzo Mastinu, Francesco Clemente, Paolo Sassu, Oskar Aszmann, Rickard Brånemark, Bo Håkansson, Marco Controzzi, Christian Cipriani and Max Ortiz-Catalan

A suite of automated tools to quantify hand and wrist motor function after cervical spinal cord injury

Cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) often causes chronic upper extremity disability. Reliable measurement of arm function is critical for development of therapies to improve recovery after cSCI. In this study, ...

Authors: Katelyn M. Grasse, Seth A. Hays, Kimiya C. Rahebi, Victoria S. Warren, Elizabeth A. Garcia, Jane G. Wigginton, Michael P. Kilgard and Robert L. Rennaker II

Predicting wrist kinematics from motor unit discharge timings for the control of active prostheses

Current myoelectric control algorithms for active prostheses map time- and frequency-domain features of the interference EMG signal into prosthesis commands. With this approach, only a fraction of the availabl...

Authors: Tamás Kapelner, Ivan Vujaklija, Ning Jiang, Francesco Negro, Oskar C. Aszmann, Jose Principe and Dario Farina

Muscle synergies demonstrate only minimal changes after treatment in cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have altered synergies compared to typically-developing peers, reflecting different neuromuscular control strategies used to move. While these children receive a variety of tr...

Authors: Benjamin R. Shuman, Marije Goudriaan, Kaat Desloovere, Michael H. Schwartz and Katherine M. Steele

Detection of movement onset using EMG signals for upper-limb exoskeletons in reaching tasks

To assist people with disabilities, exoskeletons must be provided with human-robot interfaces and smart algorithms capable to identify the user’s movement intentions. Surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals c...

Authors: Emilio Trigili, Lorenzo Grazi, Simona Crea, Alessandro Accogli, Jacopo Carpaneto, Silvestro Micera, Nicola Vitiello and Alessandro Panarese

Don’t forget the trunk in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients: more muscle weakness and compensation than expected

Performing daily activities independently becomes more difficult in time for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) due to muscle weakness. When performing seated daily activities, the trunk plays an ...

Authors: L. H. C. Peeters, I. Kingma, J. H. van Dieën and I. J. M. de Groot

Does severity of motor impairment affect reactive adaptation and fall-risk in chronic stroke survivors?

A single-session of slip-perturbation training has shown to induce long-term fall risk reduction in older adults. Considering the spectrum of motor impairments and deficits in reactive balance after a cortical...

Authors: Tanvi Bhatt, Shamali Dusane and Prakruti Patel

Boosting robot-assisted rehabilitation of stroke hemiparesis by individualized selection of upper limb movements – a pilot study

Intensive robot-assisted training of the upper limb after stroke can reduce motor impairment, even at the chronic stage. However, the effectiveness of practice for recovery depends on the selection of the prac...

Authors: Orna Rosenthal, Alan M. Wing, Jeremy L. Wyatt, David Punt, Briony Brownless, Chit Ko-Ko and R. Christopher Miall

Long term at-home treatment with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improves symptoms of cerebellar ataxia: a case report

Progressive cerebellar ataxia is a neurodegenerative disorder without effective treatment options that seriously hinders quality of life. Previously, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been dem...

Authors: Giuseppina Pilloni, Michael Shaw, Charles Feinberg, Ashley Clayton, Maria Palmeri, Abhishek Datta and Leigh E. Charvet

Immediate after-effects of robot-assisted gait with pelvic support or pelvic constraint on overground walking in healthy subjects

Recovery of walking is a primary rehabilitation goal of most stroke survivors. Control of pelvic movements is one of the essential determinants of gait, yet surprisingly, conventional robot-assisted gait train...

Authors: J. F. Alingh, V. Weerdesteyn, B. Nienhuis, E. H. F. van Asseldonk, A. C. H. Geurts and B. E. Groen

Energy cost of ambulation in trans-tibial amputees using a dynamic-response foot with hydraulic versus rigid ‘ankle’: insights from body centre of mass dynamics

Previous research has shown that use of a dynamic-response prosthetic foot (DRF) that incorporates a small passive hydraulic ankle device (hyA-F), provides certain biomechanical benefits over using a DRF that has...

Authors: Graham N. Askew, Laura A. McFarlane, Alberto E. Minetti and John G. Buckley

Evaluation of tremor interference with control of voluntary reaching movements in patients with Parkinson’s disease

A large population of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) displays the symptom of resting tremor. However, the extent that resting tremor may affect the performance of movement control has not been evaluate...

Authors: Zixiang Hu, Manzhao Hao, Shaoqing Xu, Qin Xiao and Ning Lan

The effect of surface inclination and limb on knee loading measures in transtibial prosthesis users

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease caused by the wearing of joint cartilage and bone. Literature has established that a prosthesis user’s intact limb is at greater risk of developing OA. This study ...

Authors: Sean S. Doyle, Edward D. Lemaire, Julie Nantel and Emily H. Sinitski

Development of a battery-free ultrasonically powered functional electrical stimulator for movement restoration after paralyzing spinal cord injury

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is used to restore movements in paretic limbs after severe paralyses resulting from neurological injuries such as spinal cord injury (SCI). Most chronic FES systems util...

Authors: Monzurul Alam, Shuai Li, Rakib Uddin Ahmed, Yat Man Yam, Suman Thakur, Xiao-Yun Wang, Dan Tang, Serena Ng and Yong-Ping Zheng

Applying LDA-based pattern recognition to predict isometric shoulder and elbow torque generation in individuals with chronic stroke with moderate to severe motor impairment

Abnormal synergy is a major stroke-related movement impairment that presents as an unintentional contraction of muscles throughout a limb. The flexion synergy, consisting of involuntary flexion coupling of the...

Authors: Joseph V. Kopke, Levi J. Hargrove and Michael D. Ellis

Introducing the thematic series on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for motor rehabilitation: on the way to optimal clinical use

Authors: Rodrigo Vitório, Samuel Stuart, Leigh E. Charvet and Alan Godfrey

Novel gait training alters functional brain connectivity during walking in chronic stroke patients: a randomized controlled pilot trial

A recent study has demonstrated that a turning-based treadmill program yields greater improvements in gait speed and temporal symmetry than regular treadmill training in chronic stroke patients. However, it re...

Authors: I-Hsuan Chen, Yea-Ru Yang, Chia-Feng Lu and Ray-Yau Wang

Effect of the Wii Sports Resort on the improvement in attention, processing speed and working memory in moderate stroke

Stroke is the most common neurological disease in the world. After the stroke, some people suffer a cognitive disability. Commercial videogames have been used after stroke for physical rehabilitation; however,...

Authors: Iratxe Unibaso-Markaida, Ioseba Iraurgi, Nuria Ortiz-Marqués, Imanol Amayra and Silvia Martínez-Rodríguez

Quantitative assessment of cerebellar ataxia, through automated limb functional tests

Cerebellar damage can often result in disabilities affecting the peripheral regions of the body. These include poor and inaccurate coordination, tremors and irregular movements that often manifest as disorders...

Authors: Ragil Krishna, Pubudu N. Pathirana, Malcolm Horne, Laura Power and David J. Szmulewicz

Actigraph assessment for measuring upper limb activity in unilateral cerebral palsy

Detecting differences in upper limb use in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) is challenging and highly dependent on examiner experience. The recent introduction of technologies in the clinical envi...

Authors: Elena Beani, Martina Maselli, Elisa Sicola, Silvia Perazza, Francesca Cecchi, Paolo Dario, Irene Braito, Roslyn Boyd, Giovanni Cioni and Giuseppina Sgandurra

Physiological and kinematic effects of a soft exosuit on arm movements

Soft wearable robots (exosuits), being lightweight, ergonomic and low power-demanding, are attractive for a variety of applications, ranging from strength augmentation in industrial scenarios, to medical assis...

Authors: Michele Xiloyannis, Domenico Chiaradia, Antonio Frisoli and Lorenzo Masia

A quantitative taxonomy of human hand grasps

A proper modeling of human grasping and of hand movements is fundamental for robotics, prosthetics, physiology and rehabilitation. The taxonomies of hand grasps that have been proposed in scientific literature...

Authors: Francesca Stival, Stefano Michieletto, Matteo Cognolato, Enrico Pagello, Henning Müller and Manfredo Atzori

Correction to: Locomotion and cadence detection using a single trunk-fixed accelerometer: validity for children with cerebral palsy in daily life-like conditions

The original article [1] contained a minor error whereby the middle initial of Christopher J. Newman’s name was mistakenly omitted.

Authors: Anisoara Paraschiv-Ionescu, Christopher J. Newman, Lena Carcreff, Corinna N. Gerber, Stephane Armand and Kamiar Aminian

The FreeD module for the Lokomat facilitates a physiological movement pattern in healthy people – a proof of concept study

A contralateral pelvic drop, a transverse rotation and a lateral translation of the pelvis are essential features of normal human gait. These motions are often restricted in robot-assisted gait devices. The op...

Authors: Tabea Aurich-Schuler, Anja Gut and Rob Labruyère

Uneven terrain exacerbates the deficits of a passive prosthesis in the regulation of whole body angular momentum in individuals with a unilateral transtibial amputation

Uneven ground is a frequently encountered, yet little-studied challenge for individuals with amputation. The absence of control at the prosthetic ankle to facilitate correction for surface inconsistencies, and...

Authors: Jenny A. Kent, Kota Z. Takahashi and Nicholas Stergiou

Locomotion and cadence detection using a single trunk-fixed accelerometer: validity for children with cerebral palsy in daily life-like conditions

Physical therapy interventions for ambulatory youth with cerebral palsy (CP) often focus on activity-based strategies to promote functional mobility and participation in physical activity. The use of activity ...

Authors: Anisoara Paraschiv-Ionescu, Christopher J. Newman, Lena Carcreff, Corinna N. Gerber, Stephane Armand and Kamiar Aminian

Controlling a motorized orthosis to follow elbow volitional movement: tests with individuals with pathological tremor

There is a need for alternative treatment options for tremor patients who do not respond well to medications or surgery, either due to side effects or poor efficacy, or that are excluded from surgery. The stud...

Authors: Gil Herrnstadt, Martin J. McKeown and Carlo Menon

Design, development, and evaluation of a local sensor-based gait phase recognition system using a logistic model decision tree for orthosis-control

Functionality and versatility of microprocessor-controlled stance-control knee-ankle-foot orthoses (M-SCKAFO) are dictated by their embedded control systems. Proper gait phase recognition (GPR) is required to ...

Authors: Johnny D. Farah, Natalie Baddour and Edward D. Lemaire

Altered muscle activation patterns (AMAP): an analytical tool to compare muscle activity patterns of hemiparetic gait with a normative profile

Stroke survivors often have lower extremity sensorimotor impairments, resulting in an inability to sufficiently recruit muscle activity at appropriate times in a gait cycle. Currently there is a lack of a stan...

Authors: Shraddha Srivastava, Carolynn Patten and Steven A. Kautz

Tele-monitored tDCS rehabilitation: feasibility, challenges and future perspectives in Parkinson’s disease

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a modality of non-invasive brain stimulation involving the application of low amplitude direct current via surface electrodes on the scalp. tDCS has been studi...

Authors: Alberto Cucca, Kush Sharma, Shashank Agarwal, Andrew Seth Feigin and Milton Cesar Biagioni

The effect of 8 weeks of treatment with transcranial pulsed electromagnetic fields on hand tremor and inter-hand coherence in persons with Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) tremor comprises asymmetric rest and postural tremor with unilateral onset. Tremor intensity can be amplified by stress and reduced by attention, and the medical treatment is complex. ...

Authors: Anne Sofie Bøgh Malling, Bo Mohr Morberg, Lene Wermuth, Ole Gredal, Per Bech and Bente Rona Jensen

Electroencephalography-based endogenous brain–computer interface for online communication with a completely locked-in patient

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) have demonstrated the potential to provide paralyzed individuals with new means of communication, but an electroencephalography (EEG)-based endogenous BCI has never been succes...

Authors: Chang-Hee Han, Yong-Wook Kim, Do Yeon Kim, Seung Hyun Kim, Zoran Nenadic and Chang-Hwan Im

Recent advances in rehabilitation for Parkinson’s Disease with Exergames: A Systematic Review

The goal of this contribution is to gather and to critically analyze recent evidence regarding the potential of exergaming for Parkinson’s disease (PD) rehabilitation and to provide an up-to-date analysis of t...

Authors: Augusto Garcia-Agundez, Ann-Kristin Folkerts, Robert Konrad, Polona Caserman, Thomas Tregel, Mareike Goosses, Stefan Göbel and Elke Kalbe

A postural unloading task to assess fast corrective responses in the upper limb following stroke

Robotic technologies to measure human behavior are emerging as a new approach to assess brain function. Recently, we developed a robot-based postural Load Task to assess corrective responses to mechanical dist...

Authors: Catherine R. Lowrey, Teige C. Bourke, Stephen D. Bagg, Sean P. Dukelow and Stephen H. Scott

Evaluation of biomechanical gait parameters of patients with Cerebral Palsy at three different levels of gait assistance using the CPWalker

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common cause of permanent serious physical disability in childhood. Although many platforms have been developed, so far there are still not precise guidelines for the rehabilita...

Authors: Luis Felipe Aycardi, Carlos Andrés Cifuentes, Marcela Múnera, Cristina Bayón, Oscar Ramírez, Sergio Lerma, Anselmo Frizera and Eduardo Rocon

Transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of motor impairment following traumatic brain injury

After traumatic brain injury (TBI), motor impairment is less common than neurocognitive or behavioral problems. However, about 30% of TBI survivors have reported motor deficits limiting the activities of daily...

Authors: Won-Seok Kim, Kiwon Lee, Seonghoon Kim, Sungmin Cho and Nam-Jong Paik

Safety of long-term electrical peripheral nerve stimulation: review of the state of the art

Electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves is used in a variety of applications such as restoring motor function in paralyzed limbs, and more recently, as means to provide intuitive sensory feedback in limb p...

Authors: Clara Günter, Jean Delbeke and Max Ortiz-Catalan

Augmented feedback for powered wheelchair training in a virtual environment

Powered wheelchair (PW) driving is a complex activity and requires the acquisition of several skills. Given the risks involved with PW use, safe and effective training methods are needed. Virtual reality train...

Authors: Catherine Bigras, Dahlia Kairy and Philippe S. Archambault

Adapting myoelectric control in real-time using a virtual environment

Pattern recognition technology allows for more intuitive control of myoelectric prostheses. However, the need to collect electromyographic data to initially train the pattern recognition system, and to re-trai...

Authors: Richard B. Woodward and Levi J. Hargrove

User activity recognition system to improve the performance of environmental control interfaces: a pilot study with patients

Assistive technologies aim to increase quality of life, reduce dependence on care giver and on the long term care system. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness in the use of assistive technology ...

Authors: Arturo Bertomeu-Motos, Santiago Ezquerro, Juan A. Barios, Luis D. Lledó, Sergio Domingo, Marius Nann, Suzanne Martin, Surjo R. Soekadar and Nicolas Garcia-Aracil

Physical activity in wheelchair-using youth with spina bifida: an observational study

Even though typically developing youth are already at risk for physical inactivity, youth with spina bifida may be even at higher risk as a consequence of their reduced mobility. No objective data is available...

Authors: Manon A. T. Bloemen, Rita J. G. van den Berg-Emons, Matthijs Tuijt, Carla F. J. Nooijen, Tim Takken, Frank J. G. Backx, Marleen Vos and Janke F. de Groot

A modified standardized nine hole peg test for valid and reliable kinematic assessment of dexterity post-stroke

Impairments in dexterity after stroke are commonly assessed by the Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT), where the only outcome variable is the time taken to complete the test. We aimed to kinematically quantify and to c...

Authors: Gudrun M Johansson and Charlotte K Häger

Control of cortical oscillatory frequency by a closed-loop system

We present a closed-loop system able to control the frequency of slow oscillations (SO) spontaneously generated by the cortical network in vitro. The frequency of SO can be controlled by direct current (DC) el...

Authors: Mattia D’Andola, Massimiliano Giulioni, Vittorio Dante, Paolo Del Giudice and Maria V. Sanchez-Vives

Dynamic balance and instrumented gait variables are independent predictors of falls following stroke

Falls are common following stroke and are frequently related to deficits in balance and mobility. This study aimed to investigate the predictive strength of gait and balance variables for evaluating post-strok...

Authors: Kelly Bower, Shamala Thilarajah, Yong-Hao Pua, Gavin Williams, Dawn Tan, Benjamin Mentiplay, Linda Denehy and Ross Clark