Design of technology-based rehabilitation pathways: The experience of Santobono-Pausilipon Hospital

The fields of rehabilitation robotics and virtual reality are becoming a growing area of interest in the clinical rehabilitation of people with motion impairments. These systems have the potential to assess abilities through physiological measurements and modelling activities, such as posture, gait, and balance. They can also be used as rehabilitative tools by providing patients with task-specific training in a motivating and engaging way. Despite the potential advantages of such systems, until now, there has been a general limitation of their use in rehabilitative practice. Robotics and virtual reality systems can be challenging, engaging, and fun all at the same time, particularly for children with disabilities (since they are often not very motivated to comply with conventional therapies). The aim of this work is to accurately describe the clinical use of innovative rehabilitative technologies and their use in the development of two technology-based rehabilitation pathways for the treatment of gait disorders following obesity and neurological diseases in the treatment of pediatric patients.