Mild Stroke, Serious Problems: Limitations in Balance and Gait Capacity and the Impact on Fall Rate, and Physical Activity

Background: After mild stroke persistent balance limitations may occur, creating a risk factor for fear of falling, falls, and reduced activity levels. Objective. To investigate whether individuals in the chronic phase after mild stroke show balance and gait limitations, elevated fall risk, reduced balance confidence, and physical activity...

Design validation of the MATE tendon-based passive device for post-stroke rehabilitation

Rehabilitation robots have been shown to be effective in post-stroke gait rehabilitation. However, these devices are usually expensive and suffer from high inertia which decreases transparency. The Minimally Actuated Tendon-based exercise Environment (MATE) is a tendon-based rehabilitation device, designed to be cost-effective and minimize...

Manta and Cactaceae: Rehabilitative smartphone accessories for people with chronic mild stroke impairments

Stroke causes damage to the brain, often resulting in weakness or paralysis on one side of the body. Everyday objects such as smartphones can play an im-portant role after a stroke facilitating participation in daily activities. However, commercial smartphones can be challenging to use, and people with stroke of-ten adjust their behavior to...

A MATE for post-stroke gait rehabilitation; design optimization of a minimally actuated tendon-based gait rehabilitation device

Robots can be powerful tools in post-stroke gait rehabilitation. However, state-of-the-art robots are often expensive machines containing rigid links with high inertia. Their expensiveness could limit their availability, and their high inertia reduces transparency, which could hinder rehabilitation progress. These factors raise the need for a...

Control of thumb force using surface functional electrical stimulation and muscle load sharing

Background Stroke survivors often have difficulties in manipulating objects with their affected hand. Thumb control plays an important role in object manipulation. Surface functional electrical stimulation (FES) can assist movement. We aim to control the 2D thumb force by predicting the sum of individual muscle forces, described by a sigmoidal...

Selective control of gait subtasks in robotic gait training: Foot clearance support in stroke survivors with a powered exoskeleton

Background Robot-aided gait training is an emerging clinical tool for gait rehabilitation of neurological patients. This paper deals with a novel method of offering gait assistance, using an impedance controlled exoskeleton (LOPES). The provided assistance is based on a recent finding that, in the control of walking, different modules can be...