E2Rebot: A robotic platform for upper limb rehabilitation in patients with neuromotor disability

• Main Authors: Juan C Fraile, Javier Pérez-Turiel, Enrique Baeyens, Pablo Viñas, Rubén Alonso, Alejandro Cuadrado, Manuel Franco-Martín, Esther Parra, Laureano Ayuso, Francisco García-Bravo, Félix Nieto, Lipsa Laurentiu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2016-08-01
• Series: Advances in Mechanical Engineering
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/1687814016659050

The use of robotic platforms for neuro-rehabilitation may boost the neural plasticity process and improve motor recovery in patients with upper limb mobility impairment as a consequence of an acquired brain injury. A robotic platform for this aim must provide ergonomic and friendly design, human safety, intensive task-oriented therapy, and assistive forces. Its implementation is a complex process that involves new developments in the mechanical, electronics, and control fields. This article presents the end-effector rehabilitation robot, a 2-degree-of-freedom planar robotic platform for upper limb rehabilitation in patients with neuromotor disability after a stroke. We describe the ergonomic mechanical design, the system control architecture, and the rehabilitation therapies that can be performed. The impedance-based haptic controller implemented in end-effector rehabilitation robot uses the information provided by a JR3 force sensor to achieve an efficient and friendly patient–robot interaction. Two task-oriented therapy modes have been implemented based on the “assist as needed” paradigm. As a result, the amount of support provided by the robot adapts to the patient’s requirements, maintaining the therapy as intensive as possible without compromising the patient’s health and safety and promoting engagement.