Robot-assisted therapy for upper limb impairments in cerebral palsy: A scoping review and suggestions for future research

Abstract

Abstract A growing number of studies investigate the use of robotics therapy for motor (re)habilitation with children with cerebral palsy (CP). Most of these studies use functional robots in very repetitive sessions. While the therapy is effective, very few studies employ social robots, which appears to be a missed opportunity to design more compelling and enjoyable sessions for the children. In this article, we will review robot-assisted upper limb motor (re)habilitation for children with CP. Previous reviews of robot-assisted therapy for CP had mostly focused on lower limbs, or the review was made from a medical point of view, with the sole concern being the therapy’s effectiveness. Here, we focus our review on robot-assisted upper limb (re)habilitation and address human–robot interaction considerations. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and IEEE databases and argue that although this area of research is promising and already effective, it would benefit from the inclusion of social robots for a more engaging and enjoyable experience. We suggest four scenarios that could be developed in this direction. The goal of this article is to highlight the relevance of the past work and encourage the development of new ideas where therapy will socially engage and motivate children.