Vigaru Bogdan, Lambercy Olivier, Graber Lina, Fluit René, Wespe Pascal, Schubring-Giese Maximilian, Luft Andreas, Gassert Roger
Rehabilitation Engineering Lab, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
IEEE Int Conf Rehabil Robot. 2011;2011:5975349. doi: 10.1109/ICORR.2011.5975349.
The investigation and characterization of sensori-motor learning and execution represents a key objective for the design of optimal rehabilitation therapies following stroke. By supplying new tools to investigate sensorimotor learning and objectively assess recovery, robot assisted techniques have opened new lines of research in neurorehabilitation aiming to complement current clinical strategies. Human studies, however, are limited by the complex logistics, heterogeneous patient populations and large dropout rates. Rat models may provide a substitute to explore the mechanisms underlying these processes in humans with larger and more homogeneous populations. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a three-degrees-of-freedom robotic manipulandum to train and assess precision forelimb movement in rats before and after stroke. The mechanical design is presented based on the requirements of interaction with rat kinematics and kinetics. The characterization of the robot exhibits a compact, low friction device, with a sufficient bandwidth suitable for motor training studies with rodents. The manipulandum was integrated with an existing training environment for rodent experiments and a first study is currently underway.
感觉运动学习与执行的研究和特征描述是中风后最佳康复治疗设计的关键目标。通过提供新的工具来研究感觉运动学习并客观评估恢复情况，机器人辅助技术在神经康复领域开辟了新的研究方向，旨在补充当前的临床策略。然而，人体研究受到复杂的后勤保障、异质的患者群体以及高失访率的限制。大鼠模型可能提供一种替代方法，用于在更大且更同质的群体中探索人类这些过程背后的机制。本文描述了一种三自由度机器人操作臂的开发与评估，用于训练和评估大鼠中风前后的精确前肢运动。基于与大鼠运动学和动力学相互作用的要求，介绍了机械设计。该机器人的特性表明它是一种紧凑、低摩擦的装置，具有足够的带宽，适合用于啮齿动物的运动训练研究。该操作臂与现有的啮齿动物实验训练环境集成在一起，目前正在进行第一项研究。
