Project Overview

The HOMEREHAB project aims at developing a new tele-rehabilitation robotic system for delivering therapy to stroke patients at home. It will research on the complex trade-off between robotic design requirements for in home systems and the performance required for optimal rehabilitation therapies, which current commercial systems designed for laboratories and hospitals do not take into account. Additionally, the new home scenario also demands for the smart monitoring of the patient’s physiological state, and the adaptation of the rehabilitation therapy to these data for an optimal service. The main novelty of the HOMEREHAB approach is the integration of both specifications to develop new rehabilitation robotic systems for in home use. For the experimental validation of the HOMEREHAB approach, a proof-of-concept prototype will be developed based on the RoboTherapist 2D robotic system manufactured by Instead Technologies.

Objectives

The main objective of HOMEREHAB is the integration of robotic and biomechatronic technologies for supporting the development of home rehabilitation services for post-stroke patients. To that end, the following specific objectives have been defined:

  • To research and define the minimum specifications (e.g. workspace, power, autonomy, etc.) that a robotic system must have for delivering rehabilitation therapy at home satisfactorily.
  • To research on critical system features that a robotic system developed for in home use should address, e.g. portability, adaptability, scalability and auto-calibration.
  • To modify the RoboTherapist 2D robotic system from Instead Technologies according to such specifications to develop a new simplified low-cost version intended for patient use at home.
  • To research on strategies to monitor the patient’s physiological state at home.
  • To develop a tele-rehabilitation interface that allows a bidirectional communication between the patient’s robotic platform at home and his doctor’s computer at the medical centre.
  • To develop a smart controller for the system able to adapt therapy depending of the patient’s physiological state and the doctor’s instructions through the tele-rehabilitation interface.
  • To compare performance between the new robotic system for in home use and the current RobotTherapist 2D system. User studies will be carried out to evaluate the system’s performance by measuring objective indicators and subjective perception (e.g. a survey to evaluate the ergonomy and usability of the systems).
  • To evaluate the system with post-stroke patients by a two week visit to the Peccioli RIF (Auxilium Vitae Rehabilitation Center). To discuss and gather advice and experience on legal, ethical and economic issues, as well as for the exploitation of the system, from the experts at the RIF.

echordThis project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement nº 601116

For further information regarding ECHORD++ projects, please visit www.echord.eu

21 June 2018