Upper limb contralateral physiological characteristic evaluation for robot-assisted post stroke hemiplegic rehabilitation

Abstract

An innovative robot-aided quantitative evaluation method was established in order to evaluate disability level of post hemiplegic stroke patients. A sEMG-driven musculoskeletal model utilized the physiological characters of impaired limb and normalized by healthy limbs' physiological characters can be applied to calculate muscle strength and other dynamics data (such as elbow joint torque). By comparing physiological characters of impaired upper limb to contralateral healthy limb of same subject, researchers are able to investigate the difference of motor function between impaired and healthy. Comparing the comparability of both sides' with patients and healthy person may assist researchers and doctors to create more appropriate training or treatment plan to clinical needs. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.