Robot rehabilitation study receives funding

Prof David Reinkensmeyer is collaborating with neurology professor Steve Cramer and electrical engineering professor Mark Bachman as well as former UCI doctoral student Eric Wolbrecht, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Idaho.

He said that although researchers know that exercise after stroke helps restore brain pathways, a concept known as use-dependent brain plasticity, what they don’t know is whether the exercise is more beneficial if it is aided by robots that guide the patients’ hands and help them complete specific tasks.

Current therapies were designed to be administered by physical or occupational therapists, limiting their affordability and availability. So, Reinkensmeyer said that there has been a concentrated effort to develop technology that can automate these processes.

’People prefer exercising with a robot that helps them complete computer games, so there’s a motivational benefit to robotics. But it’s not clear yet whether having a robot assist a person is more effective than just having them exercise without it,’ he added.