Rehabilitation of reaching movement after stroke using a hybrid robotic system and paired with the motor intent

Abstract

Brain state-dependent afferent stimulation constitutes a promising technique for rehabilitation of upper limb motor functions after stroke. Previous studies have shown that the associative stimulation with certain temporary restrictions between the user’s movement intent and the electrical stimuli delivered peripherally can generate plastic changes. However, this approach applied to the functional recovery of the upper limb has not been tested yet. The objective of this study is to ascertain whether the application of the functional electrical stimulation at the precise moment at which the subject wishes to move or at a different time interval (before or after), leads to significant changes in neurophysiological, clinical and kinematic measures as a result of undergoing multi-sessions intervention. The proposed intervention, which consists of a reaching movement, is composed of nine sessions divided into three weeks.