Clinical Applications of Rehabilitation Robots Among Patients With Stroke

There is growing evidence to support robotic rehabilitation for upper limb among stroke patients. This paper reviews the evidence of robotic rehabilitation depending on the types of rehabilitation robotic devices. A comparison study of end-effector and exoskeleton robots in chronic stroke patients with moderate-to-severe upper limb impairment found that improvements in activity and participation were significantly better in the end-effector group than exoskeleton group. Another comparison study which compared the effectiveness of active-assistive robot versus passive robot (PSV) found discrepant results, with the PSV group showing better outcomes in participation-related measures. Taken together, robotic rehabilitation for upper limb among stroke patients is a promising approach, however further research is needed to optimize the design and application of robotic devices.