Upper extremity rehabilitation equipment for stroke patients in Taiwan: usage problems and improvement needs

The purpose of this study was to survey occupational therapists for the usage problems and for their improvement needs for upper extremity rehabilitation equipment (UERE). A questionnaire was given to experienced occupational therapists from 113 hospitals that provide occupational therapy services with three or more professional full-time therapists. A total of 48 hospitals sent back questionnaires, and 184 valid questionnaires were received. Most of the UERE had two major problems: The base of the equipment was unstable, and the equipment was uninteresting to use. The therapists reported that three major needs for design improvement in the UERE were adjustability of functions, exchangeability of components and recording of movement data. Some therapists had suggestions for designing new types of UERE, such as manual dexterity training equipment, activities of daily living oriented equipment, sensory re-education equipment, arm supination and pronation training equipment, and wrist extension training equipment. These findings reveal the genuine user needs of upper extremity devices and provide useful applications to the development and re-design of these devices. However, obtaining opinions primarily from experienced occupational therapists may pose a methodological limitation of this study. In future research, it is advised to include patients' opinions and also investigate whether a clinician's years of experience would affect his or her viewpoint of usage problems and improvement needs of the UERE.