STROKE — LOWER EXTREMITY

At its current state, robotic rehabilitation for lower extremity is still in its infancy, Dobkin, B.H. and Duncan, P.W., “Should Body-Weight Supported Treadmill Training and Robotic-Assistive Steppers for Locomotor Training Trot Back to the Starting Gate,” Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 26 (308-317) May 2012.

IMT in close collaboration with the Newman laboratory for biomechanics and human rehabilitation at  MIT has developed the “ANKLEBOT”. The technology uses patented Assit-as-Needed™ technology and the initial results are quite encouraging.

Lee Hyunglae, Ho Patrick “Multivariable Static Ankle Mechanical Impedance with Relaxed Muscles,”
Journal of biomechanics (44) 2011

Roy, A, et al., “Measurement of passive ankle stiffness in subjects with chronic hemiparesis using a novel ankle robot,”
Journal Neurophysiology 105:2132-2149, (2011)

Forrester, LW, et al, “Ankle Training With a Robotic Device Improves Hemiparetic Gait After a Stroke,”
Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol 25, No 4, May (2011)

Roy, A., et al., “Robot-Aided Neurorehabilitation: A Robot for Ankle Rehabilitation,”
IEEE – Transaction Robotics 25:3:569-582 (2009)