Robotics Rehabilitation for Training and Assessment of Upper Extremities

Robotic Rehabilitation is a prominent rehabilitation tool that provides comprehensive repetitive tasks, diversity and feedback for cost efficiency with quantitative measurement of human motor performances substituting the conventional physiotherapy. However, the current literature has a paucity of robotic devices assessment on the human motor performances with different handedness. Therefore, this study aims to investigate both hands kinematic abilities to accomplish a reaching task which is the virtual supermarket game (picking up the food) with their effect of handedness is conducted by using rehabilitation robotic, Armeo®Spring along with the surface electromyography (sEMG) to evaluate the ability of individual muscle activation when performing an upper extremities reaching task. Moreover, a Robotics Rehabilitation Management Tool is developed as a user-friendly clinical management tool for physiotherapist and patients. Fifteen (15) subjects, 9 males, and 6 females are divided into different groups; males right-handed, males left-handed, female right-handed, female left-handed and males both-handed. From the study, the range of motion (ROM) and muscle activation (sEMG signal) of the subject were significantly dependent on the handedness. On the contrary, the game scoring and hand position/opening reach were not affected by handedness.