Effects of Assist-As-Needed Upper Extremity Robotic Therapy after Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Parallel-Group Controlled Trial

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dc.citation.articleNumber26en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleFrontiers in Neuroroboticsen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber11en_US
dc.contributor.authorFrullo, John Michaelen_US
dc.contributor.authorElinger, Jareden_US
dc.contributor.authorPehlivan, Ali Utkuen_US
dc.contributor.authorFitle, Kyleen_US
dc.contributor.authorNedley, Kathrynen_US
dc.contributor.authorFrancisco, Gerard E.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSergi, Fabrizioen_US
dc.contributor.authorO’Malley, Marcia K.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-25T18:04:13Zen_US
dc.date.available2017-07-25T18:04:13Zen_US
dc.date.issued2017en_US
dc.description.abstractBackground: Robotic rehabilitation of the upper limb following neurological injury has been supported through several large clinical studies for individuals with chronic stroke. The application of robotic rehabilitation to the treatment of other neurological injuries is less developed, despite indications that strategies successful for restoration of motor capability following stroke may benefit individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) as well. Although recent studies suggest that robot-aided rehabilitation might be beneficial after incomplete SCI, it is still unclear what type of robot-aided intervention contributes to motor recovery. Methods: We developed a novel assist-as-needed (AAN) robotic controller to adjust challenge and robotic assistance continuously during rehabilitation therapy delivered via an upper extremity exoskeleton, the MAHI Exo-II, to train independent elbow and wrist joint movements. We further enrolled seventeen patients with incomplete spinal cord injury (AIS C and D levels) in a parallel-group balanced controlled trial to test the efficacy of the AAN controller, compared to a subject-triggered (ST) controller that does not adjust assistance or challenge levels continuously during therapy. The conducted study is a stage two, development-of-concept pilot study. Results: We validated the AAN controller in its capability of modulating assistance and challenge during therapy via analysis of longitudinal robotic metrics. For the selected primary outcome measure, the pre–post difference in ARAT score, no statistically significant change was measured in either group of subjects. Ancillary analysis of secondary outcome measures obtained via robotic testing indicates gradual improvement in movement quality during the therapy program in both groups, with the AAN controller affording greater increases in movement quality over the ST controller. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates feasibility of subject-adaptive robotic therapy after incomplete spinal cord injury, but does not demonstrate gains in arm function occurring as a result of the robot-assisted rehabilitation program, nor differential gains obtained as a result of the developed AAN controller. Further research is warranted to better quantify the recovery potential provided by AAN control strategies for robotic rehabilitation of the upper limb following incomplete SCI.en_US
dc.identifier.citationFrullo, John Michael, Elinger, Jared, Pehlivan, Ali Utku, et al.. "Effects of Assist-As-Needed Upper Extremity Robotic Therapy after Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Parallel-Group Controlled Trial." <i>Frontiers in Neurorobotics,</i> 11, (2017) Frontiers Media S.A.: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2017.00026.en_US
dc.identifier.digitalAssist-As-Needed_Upper_Extremity_Robotic_Therapyen_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2017.00026en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/95218en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers Media S.A.en_US
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.titleEffects of Assist-As-Needed Upper Extremity Robotic Therapy after Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: A Parallel-Group Controlled Trialen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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