An Upper Extremity Exoskeleton to Target Unwanted Joint Synergies During Repetitive Training in Stroke Survivors

In the researchers' words

Stroke is the leading cause of adult-onset disability, and affects 15,000 Veterans each year. Successful rehabilitation and recovery following a stroke requires therapy including repetitive task training. However, repetitive task training can be draining for both the clinician and the patient as it requires the participant to complete many repetitions of the same task and those repetitions can be difficult to accomplish with appropriate technique. Robot-mediated repetitive task training has the potential to facilitate the clinical delivery of proven rehabilitation programs to Veterans in need and recently a new exoskeleton has been developed, called Harmony, which can deliver bimanual 3D arm therapy. The investigators propose to develop and test two novel controllers', synergy avoidance and task assistance, that use promising neurological basis for training to facilitate repetitive task training while ensuring correct movement patterns in acute and sub-acute stage stroke patients. This has the potential to improve Veterans' activities of daily living and quality of life.