Robots to aid stroke victims with physical therapy
August 31, 2010 | Length: 00:02:59
Dr. Jacob Rosen, a professor at UC Santa Cruz is designing wearable robots to assist stroke victims in physical therapy and rehabilitation. SmartPlanet visits his robotics lab to see how repetitive exercises and the use of virtual reality can train the brain to rewire itself after a stroke.
Related Videos
Rated
RE: Robots to aid stroke victims with physical therapy
In
It seems like
RE: Robots to aid stroke victims with physical therapy
Not Really...
Once the therapist programs the robot, the patient can receive therapy while the therapist is assisting the next patient.
Since the robot will never get "tired", it can perform this service 24 hours/day.
It seems like
Transcript
Music
>> Sumi Das: At UC Santa Cruz, in the school's bionics lab, Dr. Jacob Rosen and PhD student, Levi Miller, are designing the next generation of exoskeleton robots. Their hope, that these wearable robots will one day aid stroke victims in their rehabilitation.
>>
Speaker: The reason why we target stroke patients is the fact that stroke patients can actually recover from a stroke, and they can recover through a very intensive and physical treatment. This physical treatment is going through phases, and the robot can emulate these phases.
>> Sumi Das: The robot's mobility comes from these seven actuators, which mimic the flexibility and freedom of human arms.
>>
Speaker: We have two arms. Each one has seven degrees of freedom. The idea is to support all the degrees of freedom with the capabilities to move as we have in our human arm.
>> Sumi Das: The bionic arms assist a patient in rehab, aiding them with repetitive exercises.
>>
Speaker: In therapy, repetition is an important factor. It's training the brain to rewire itself, so I'll play the role of the therapist. I will hold the patient's arm, move it around to a certain position, then move the wrist, for example, then take it back to the original position.
>> Sumi Das: A computer connected to the robot records the motion and then plays it back.
>>
Speaker: The computer recorded the joint angles, and it can repeat it over and over again.
Music
>> Sumi Das: The robot can also help patients who have lost feeling on one side of their body, as is often the case with stroke victims.
>>
Speaker: If you are a stroke patient, we can use the healthy side to drive the disabled side. So let's say that he's paralyzed on the left side of this body. He can use the right side to drive the left side.
>> Sumi Das: Finally, the robot can also be programmed to work inside the virtual world, providing stroke victims with rehabilitation therapy that's more goal oriented.
>>
Speaker: Right, now, Levi is in the virtual world. He would move his arm, and he would see a virtual object in front of him, and to create a more intellectually engaging for the patient to work in.
Music
>> Sumi Das: Smart robots for stroke victims, rehabilitant and recovering with assistive technologies.
Music For "Smart Planet," I'm Sumi Das.
Music
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====