• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.59-78
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• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of robot-assisted therapy on upper extremity function. Methods : This study used a single-subject experimental A-B-A' design. Three Parkinson's disease patients took part. Each subject received a robot-assisted therapy intervention (45 min/session, 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks). Upper extremity movement was evaluated with the Reo Assessment tool in Reogo. The Jebsen-Taylor hand motor function test, Fugle-Mayer Assessment score, Box and Block Test, and Nine-hole pegboard test were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Results : After intervention, all subjects underwent 3D motion analysis of reaching function. There was overall improvement in resistance, smoothness, direction accuracy, path efficiency, initiation time, and time to moving target with robot-assisted therapy. Robot-assisted therapy may have a positive effect on upper extremity movement in Parkinson's disease. Conclusion : Robot-assisted therapy is considered an alternative in clinical occupational therapy to improve upper extremity function in Parkinson's disease.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.459-466
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• 2016

This study examined the effects of robot-assisted therapy on the motor and functional recovery of the lower limbs in 53 subacute stroke patients. Robot-assisted therapy was performed using Lokomat? (Hocoma AG, Zurich, Switzerland) for thirty minutes per day, five times a week for four weeks. The outcome measures used were the Fugl-Meyer assessment, Motricity index(MI), Functional ambulation category(FAC), Berg balance scale(BBS) for gait function and balance ability, 10m walking test, K-Modified Barthel Index(K-MBI) for the activities of daily living and Mini mental state examination (MMSE), and Beck's depression inventory(BDI) for depression. All patients recruited underwent these evaluations before and after the four week robot-assisted therapy. For the evaluation, the somatosensory evoked potentials were used to assess the functional recovery. Robot-assisted therapy on the lower limb after subacute stroke showed improvement in motor strength, gait function, and the activities of daily living. All changes in terms of MI, FAC, BBS, and K-MBI exhibited a statistically significant difference after the four weeks robot-assisted therapy. The somatosensory evoked potential result showed a correlation with the MI and K-MBI. Robot-assisted therapy is believed to facilitate the motor and functional recovery of the lower limb in subacute stroke patients.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.2021-2027
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• 2020

Background: Previous robot-mediated gait training has been proven several limitations such as pointless repeated motion training, decreased presence, etc. In this research, adult stroke patients were participated in robot-mediated gait training accompanied with or without virtual reality program. Objectives: Exploring whether the results indicated virtual reality system has contribution to muscle strength and balance ability. Design: A case series research, cross-over trial. Methods: Eleven participants (male 4, female 7) with adults diagnosed as stroke from medical doctor ware engaged. The participants received 2 treatment sessions of identical duration, robot-assisted gait training with virtual reality and robot-assisted gait training with screen-off randomly crossed over include 1-day for each person of wash-out period. The parameter was muscle activity, the researchers assessed sEMG (surface electromyography). Results: The result showed less muscle activities during training in robot-assisted gait training with virtual reality circumstances, and these indicated muscles were gluteus medius muscle, vastus medialis muscle, vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis muscle, semimembranosus muscle, gastrocnemius-lateral head, and soleus muscle (P<.05). Conclusion: In this study, we analyzed the outcome of muscle activity for clinical inference of robot-assisted gait training with virtual reality (VR). Less muscle activity was measured in the treatment accompanied by VR, therefore, a more systematic, in-depth and well-founded level of follow-up research is needed.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2013

Objective : The purpose of this study is to assess effects of Robot-assisted therapy on function of upper extremity in stroke patients. Method : A total of 11 patients suffered from stroke participated in this study. Inpatients of 4 people and outpatients of 7 people divided by 12 months conducted Robot-assisted therapy for 5~6 weeks. Therapists selected appropriate exercise mode to patients, and patients Patients performed the reaching exercise was repeated with looking monitor provided 3-dimensional feedback. Before and after treatment of upper extremity functions was compare by Wolf Motor Function(K-WMFT), Box & Block Test(BBT), Dynamometer, average execution time. Result : Grip power, K-WMFT, BBT, average performance times were promoting in all subjects, and only showed statistically significant changes in outpatients. But outpatients did not show statistically significant changes in inpatients. Conclusion : Robotic-assisted therapy in stroke patients have a positive impact on upper extremity function that could confirm that. In the future, Robots-assisted therapy is expected to be useful for stroke patients in the area of occupational therapy.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.195-203
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of early Robot-assisted training on gait ability, function and ADL in patients with stroke. Methods: 26 patients with stroke were recruited for this study. The subjects were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG), with 13 patients in each group. All subjects received a routine physical therapy. The robot-assisted training was for 30 min in the case of the EG subjects. The assessment tools of this study involved the gait ability, balance ability, function and ADL. The measurements were recorded before the intervention and after the intervention. Results: EG subjects and CG subjects, the variables measured after the intervention significantly differed from gait ability, balance ability, function and ADL without the FMA (p<0.05). The FMA was only effective experimental group after intervention. Also, there were significant differences in gait ability, balance ability, function and ADL without the FMA at post-test between the 2 groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicate that early robot-assisted training exerts a positive effect on gait ability, balance ability, function and ADL in patients with stroke. This result indicates the possibility of application of the early Robot-assisted training to the management for stroke patients. Further studies are required to generalize the result for this study.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.55-64
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• 2024

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the effects of robot-assisted gait training combined with virtual reality training on balance and gait ability in stroke patients. METHODS: Thirty-one stroke patients were allocated randomly into one of two groups: robot-assisted gait training combined virtual reality training group (RGVR group; n = 16) and control group (n = 15). The RGVR group received 30 minutes of robot-assisted gait training combined with virtual reality training. Robot-assisted gait training was conducted in parallel using a virtual reality device. In the Control group, neurodevelopmental therapy was performed according to the function of chronic stroke patients. Both groups underwent training for 30 minutes, three times per week for eight weeks. The balance assessment system (BioRescue, Marseille, France), BBS, and TUG were used to evaluate the balance ability. The OptoGait (Microgate Srl, Bolzano, Italy) and 10 mWT were measured to evaluate the gait ability. The measurements were performed before and after the eight-week intervention period. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant improvement in their balance and gait ability during the intervention. RGVR showed significant differences in balance and gait ability compared to the control group groups (p < .05). These results showed that RGVR was more effective on balance and gait ability in patients with chronic stroke. CONCLUSION: RGVR can improve balance and gait ability, highlighting the benefits of RGVR. This study provides intervention data for recovering the balance and gait ability of chronic stroke patients.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.8-12
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• 2023

Purpose: Recently, many studies on robotic rehabilitation have been conducted, but such studies on patients with ankle sprains are lacking. This study aimed to investigate the effects of robot-assisted rehabilitation on the range of motion of the ankle and balance in patients with ankle sprain. METHODS: This study used the A-B-A' design and was conducted for a total of fifteen days. The subjects performed general physical therapy for five days each, during the baseline A and A' periods. In period B, robot rehabilitation was performed for five days, along with general physical therapy. The subjects were evaluated based on weight-bearing lunge test (WBLT), single leg stance (SLS), and functional reach test (FRT). RESULTS: The WBLT, STS, and FRT showed significant improvement in periods B and A' compared to period A, but there was no significant improvement in period A' compared to period B. Conclusion: This study confirmed that robot-assisted rehabilitation was an effective intervention for improving the function of patients with ankle sprain. In the future, a study with a control group comparison should be performed.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.295-306
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of robot-assisted gait training on the active ranges of motion, gait abilities, and biomechanical characteristics of gait in patients who underwent lower extremity surgery, and to verify the effectiveness and clinical usefulness of robot-assisted gait training. Methods: This study was conducted on 14 subjects who underwent lower extremity surgery. The subjects participated in robot-assisted gait training for 2 weeks. The active ranges of motion of the lower extremities were evaluated, and gait abilities were assessed using 10-m and 2-min walk tests. An STT Systems Inertial Measurement Unit was used to collect data on biomechanical characteristics during gait. Spatiotemporal parameters were used to measure cadence, step length, and velocity, and kinematic parameters were used to measure hip and knee joint movement during gait. Results: Significant improvements in the active ranges of motion of the hip and knee joints (flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction) and in the 10-m and 2-min walk test results were observed after robot-assisted gait training (p < 0.05). In addition, biomechanical characteristics of gait, spatiotemporal factors (cadence, step length, and velocity), and kinematic factors (gait hip flexion-extension, internal rotation-external rotation angle, and knee joint flexion-extension) were also significantly improved (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study are of clinical importance as they demonstrate that robot-assisted gait training can be used as an effective intervention method for patients who have undergone lower extremity surgery. Furthermore, the findings of this study are clinically meaningful as they expand the scope of robot-assisted gait training, which is currently mainly applied to patients with central nervous system conditions.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

Purpose: This systematic review aims to determine whether robot-assisted training is more effective in gait training for persons with subacute hemiparetic stroke. Methods: This study adopted a systematic review study design focused on subacute hemiparetic stroke, and four core academic databases were searched until June 11, 2021, for relevant studies, including PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and ProQuest Central. The review included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of robotic-assisted training on gait performance in persons with a diagnosis of subacute hemiparetic stroke. The selected RCT studies were qualitatively synthesized based on the population, intervention, comparison, outcome, settings, and study design (PICOS-SD). Results: The study selected five RCTs involving 253 subacute hemiparetic stroke patients and performing robotic-assisted gait training using the following devices: the Lokomat, Morning Walk, Walkbot, ProStep Plus, or Gait Trainer II. Five RCTs were eligible for the meta-analysis after quantitative synthesis, and the results showed that the robot-assisted gait training group had a greater gait performance than the control group based on the 10-meter walk test, Berg balance scale, Rivermed mobility index, functional ambulation category, and modified Barthel index. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the gait performance of subacute hemiparetic stroke patients changes throughout robot-assisted gait training, but there were no indications that any of the clinically relevant effects of robot-assisted training are greater than those of conventional gait training. Further, the small sample size and different therapeutic intensities indicate that definitive conclusions could not be made.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.65-73
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• 2022

PURPOSE: The present research examined the effects of progressive robot-assisted step training on the strength of the lower extremity and gait speed of an individual with stroke through changes between the baseline and the intervention stage (1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months). METHODS: A single-subject (A-B) design was performed for a chronic stroke patient aged 70 years old. The robot-assisted step training was conducted three times a week during 12 months (40 minutes/session), and the assessment was conducted a total of seven times between the baseline and the intervention (No. 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months) to determine the effect of the intervention. RESULTS: As a result of the intervention, the muscle strength at the lower extremity of the paralysis side increased by the greatest extent 12 months after the intervention compared to the baseline, and the gait speed via the 10-meter walk test was increased as well. CONCLUSION: Long-term robot-assisted step training might be an effective intervention for improving the strength of the paretic lower extremity muscles and gait speed in stroke patients with difficulty walking independently. Further studies with sufficient sample sizes and a randomized control group will be needed to evaluate the long-term effects of robotic stepping rehabilitation.