Robotic rehabilitation

Rehabilitation robotics is a field of research dedicated to understanding and augmenting rehabilitation through the application of robotic devices. Rehabilitation robotics includes development of robotic devices tailored for assisting different sensorimotor functions(e.g. arm, hand, leg, ankle), development of different schemes of assisting therapeutic training, and assessment of sensorimotor performance (ability to move) of patient; here, robots are used mainly as therapy aids instead of assistive devices. Rehabilitation using robotics is generally well tolerated by patients, and has been found to be an effective adjunct to therapy in individuals suffering from motor impairments, especially due to stroke.

Rehabilitation robotics can be considered a specific focus of biomedical engineering, and a part of human-robot interaction. In this field, clinicians, therapists, and engineers collaborate to help rehabilitate patients.

Prominent goals in the field include: developing implementable technologies that can be easily used by patients, therapists, and clinicians; enhancing the efficacy of clinician's therapies; and increasing the ease of activities in the daily lives of patients.

The International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics occurs every two years, with the first conference in 1989. The most recent conference was held in Singapore in 2015 ; an upcoming conference is scheduled for July 2017 in London (UK). Rehabilitation robotics was introduced two decades ago for patients who have neurological disorders. The people that you will most commonly find using rehabilitation robots are disabled people or therapists. When the rehabilitation robots were created they were not intended to be recovery robots but to help people recognizing objects through touch and for people who suffered from nervous system disorder. Rehabilitation robots are used in the recuperation process of disabled patients in standing up, balancing and gait. These robots must keep up with a human and their movement, therefore in the making of the machine the makers need to be sure that it will be consistent with the progress of the patient. Much rigorous work is put into the design because the robot will work with people who have disabilities and will not be able to react quickly in case something goes wrong.

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