Robot Therapists for Stroke Patients
... for stroke patients, neurologists and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) collaborated to create an interactive "robot therapist" (Robots Improve, 2003). Robot therapists were designed to improve recovery and rehabilitation of the shoulders and upper arms of stroke victims. According to the American Academy of Neurology, the robot assists in continually exercising the arm that has been paralyzed by stroke, even if the patient is completely unable to move his or her arm. A robot therapist appears to be similar to a motorized arm and is usually positioned on a desktop. "A video screen prompts the person to perform an arm exercise, such as connecting the dots or drawing the hands of a clock" (Robots Improve, 2003). To perform the exercises, the patient uses a target that changes colors. Neville Hogan, an MIT professor working on this assignment, states that "when the target changes color, [the patient is] supposed to move the little yellow dot to coincide with the red one"(McKenzie, 2003). It "nudges" the patients to move in the right direction and can continue to do this "in such a way up to 1,000 times an hour" (McKenzie, 2003). By simple use of repetition, patients are able to recover quickly. If the patient is not able to perform a movement, the robot moves the arm for them. If the patient is able to perform the movement, the robot immediately turns off and allows the patient to continue the movement, independently. Although this device may seem very technologically advanced, it holds a very basic concept. The purpose of robot therapy is to "[retrain] the brain to control the muscles" (Robots Improve, 2003). According to ABC News, many studies have shown that by using robot therapy for stroke victims, in addition to other phases of rehabilitation, the mobility of the arms of patients may be can be raised to double the amount as before rehabilitation. Eventually, patients may even be able to use the "robot therapist" at home. Researchers at the American Academy of Neurology studied 20 stroke victims at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, New York. These patients had lost partial or total arm movement. Some of these patients used the "robot therapist", while others used different forms of rehabilitation, forms that bore "no therapeutic qualities" (Robots Improve, 2003). Patients with robot therapy showed much more improvement than those patients without the therapy. When 12 out of the 20 patients were reassessed three years later, research proved that all patients showed progress in their movement. These improved movements include "reaching, sweeping, and support" (Robots Improve, 2003). However, "those in the robot group again showed greater improvement than those with no robot therapy" (Robots Improve, 2003). Another therapeutic robot, similar to the "robot therapist" is called the MIT-Manus robot. The MIT-Manus is "a robot that exercises stroke patients' limbs [and may improve] movement long after a stroke occurs" (Robots for, 2003). It is positioned on a table and has an extendable arm that measures approximately two feet long, according to Ivanhoe Broadcast News. The impaired arm of the patient is fastened to the end of the mechanical arm. As the robot arm begins to move, the patient's arm goes through a sequence of arm exercises. Researchers from the American Stroke Association studied 13 patients that had endured a stroke through the last one to five years. This research showed that there were "improved movement abilities in the exercised limb after six months" in most of those patients (Robots for, 2003). MIT-Manus, being such a convenient technological advancement, is now accessible for research and clinical use. It was just renamed InMotion2. Susan Fasoli, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, believes that this robotic device, along with other technological advances, will be a great innovation in the therapy of stroke victims. It is an extremely affordable, suitable, and useful apparatus for the medical setting, as well as for household use. Traditionally, researchers believed that "most recovery will happen within the first six months after a stroke" (Robots for, 2003). Physical therapy is intensely focused on during this time. However, Fasoli states that "this research suggests robot-assisted therapy can help patients recover movement years later" (Robots for, 2003). This is definit...