Development of a robotic device for post-stroke home tele-rehabilitation

Abstract

This work deals with the complex mechanical design task of converting a large pneumatic rehabilitation robot into an electric and compact system for in-home post-stroke therapies without losing performance. It presents the new HomeRehab robot that supports rehabilitation therapies in three dimensions with an adaptive controller that optimizes patient recovery. A preliminary usability test is also conducted to show that its performance resembles that found in RoboTherapist 2D commercial system designed for hospitals. The mechanical design of a novel and smart two-dimensional force sensor at the end-effector is also described.