Reaching and Hand-to-Mouth motion primitives for the functional assessment of motor abilities in robot-assisted rehabilitation practice.

Multi joint (shoulder and elbow) control is a prerequisite for the use of the hand in ADLs. The use of robotic devices to reduce Upper Limb (UL) impairment at proximal joints is a promising rehabilitation technique. The Rehabilitation Multi Sensory Room (RehaMSR) is a robotic platform developed for the assessment and rehabilitation of functional movements. Two gestures were selected, the Reaching Movement (RM) against gravity and the Hand-to-Mouth Movement (HtMM), as they are representative of ADLs such as eating and reaching for objects. First studies to determine the effects of velocity profiles and paths on the EMG pattern activity, shoulder torque and movement perception were carried out on healthy subjects executing assisted RMs. First experiments on neurological patients to test the applicability of the robotic treatment have been done. The robotic treatment was applicable to all patients, independently of the pathology and the residual abilities (from low to moderate). A high treatment program customization was indeed needed Results, from both healthy and pathological subjects, suggest that the trajectories (path and velocities) and the robot control modes should be accurately tuned during customization of the robotic treatment. Evaluation of the effect in the short term of the robotic therapy are still ongoing. [1] Caimmi 2012. 4th IEEE RAS and EMBS BioRob Intl. Conf. [2 ]Caimmi 2011. 20th annual Meeting of the ESMAC.