VALIDITY AND TEST–RETEST RELIABILITY OF AN INTELLIGENT ROBOTIC SHOULDER JOINT KINEMATICS SYSTEM FOR REHABILITATION

Abstract

The presence of normal upper limb arm swing movement is considered an important gait movement that affects the selective coordinated locomotor control of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joint movements. However, in patients with neurological disorders, flexor synergy is characterized by decreased selective neuromuscular control and reciprocal disinhibition of the wrist flexor muscles associated with spasticity or shortness. This research aimed to demonstrate the reliability, validity, and feasibility of the progressive exoskeletal robotic shoulder joint kinematics system. The robotic shoulder joint kinematics system comprises a gait function-retraining robot designed to provide arm swing. The changes in the shoulder joint angle between ImageJ motion analysis software and robotic shoulder joint kinematics system were compared in this research to investigate the reliability and validity of the latter. The linear regression analysis revealed good correlation between the measured angles and the shoulder angle data (R2=0.943). Furthermore, the test–retest reliability test demonstrated excellent reliability (R2=0.978). The robotic shoulder joint kinematics system generated successful arm swing during the locomotion and range of motion training of the shoulder.