Lower-limb robot-assisted therapy in rehabilitation of acute and subacute stroke patients

摘要

Robot-assisted therapy has been proved more effective for treating neurological conditions than conventional therapy. It is known that early training can enhance motor learning and improve functional abilities more than chronic phase training. But there is almost no such lower-limb rehabilitation robot for patients within three months after stroke in clinical. This article introduces such a new robot for acute and subacute stroke patients, which can increase joint flexibility, prevent muscle disuse atrophy, help neural plasticity, enhance motor learning and improve functional abilities by providing patients simulating-gait-training. We did randomized controlled trials including total 8 subjects (4 healthy, 4 patients). At the end of rehabilitation training, the patients' conditions were assessed by nursing and training staff using the Fugl Meyer Assessment score. After four weeks of robot-assisted therapy, experimental results showed that the patients' score and their activities of daily living improved a lot. It is proved that the lower-limb rehabilitation robot for acute and subacute patients is effective.