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About

Naoki Imada is a leading researcher in neurorehabilitation robotics, whose work centers on the use of exoskeletal robots to restore motor function and activities of daily living (ADL) in stroke patients. His most impactful contribution is demonstrating that combining an exoskeletal upper-limb robot with occupational therapy yields significant ADL improvements in acute stroke survivors (64 citations). Imada has also pioneered the use of propensity score matching to show that lower-limb exoskeleton training enhances functional outcomes, and he developed a clinical prediction rule to identify which patients will achieve clinically important gains from robot-assisted therapy. His research uniquely integrates neuroimaging, using fNIRS to reveal that the rostromedial prefrontal cortex is critically involved in human-robot interaction during motor tasks. Imada’s work on early initiation of gait training with the Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) has clarified the timing benefits for stroke recovery, while his recent studies identify patient characteristics that predict poor response to robotic gait training, enabling more personalized rehabilitation. With over 115 citations across his most-cited papers, Imada is shaping evidence-based protocols for integrating exoskeletal robotics into stroke rehabilitation.