Neurorobotics for Neurorehabilitation: Clinical Applications and Future Research Direction

Neurorobotics is reshaping neurorehabilitation by combining neural sensing, adaptive actuation, and data-driven control to support function and drive recovery. This chapter reviews the field from a clinically translational perspective, with a focus on technologies that reestablish disrupted sensorimotor and autonomic communication after neurological injury and disease. We summarize enabling components—noninvasive and invasive sensing, robotic and neurostimulation-based actuation, and control architectures that enable real-time human–machine coadaptation. We then survey clinical applications in upper- and lower-limb rehabilitation across stroke, spinal cord injury, amputation, and peripheral sensory disorders, highlighting where evidence is strongest and where deployment remains limited to specialized centers. Emphasis is placed on multisensory feedback and bidirectional interfaces, which can improve embodiment, task performance, and real-world use beyond purely assistive mechanics. We also discuss emerging autonomic applications, including cardiovascular and visceral modulation, and their relevance for rehabilitation participation and outcomes. Finally, we outline future directions: personalization via computational modeling and digital twins, home-based and telemonitored therapy, AI-supported adaptation, and biohybrid approaches linking neurorobotics with regenerative medicine. Key barriers remain in standardization, long-term validation, equitable access, and ethics. As the field moves from proof-of-concept toward precision, mechanism-informed rehabilitation, the central challenge is to optimize patient stratification and dosing and to integrate these systems into scalable clinical pathways.