Towards a Platform for Robot-Assisted Minimally-Supervised Therapy of Hand Function: Design and Pilot Usability...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Neurorehabilitation
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Robot-assisted therapy can increase rehabilitation dose, particularly for hand function after stroke.
• Current systems often require extensive therapist supervision, limiting scalability.
• A platform for minimally-supervised robot-assisted therapy is proposed to increase therapy accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the immediate usability of a novel hand rehabilitation robot platform designed for minimal therapist supervision.
• To assess the perceived workload and independent use capabilities of the platform by chronic stroke participants.

Main Methods:

• Design modifications were made to a hand rehabilitation robot, incorporating new user interfaces and therapy exercises.
• Ten participants with chronic stroke underwent a single therapy session with minimal supervision.
• Usability, perceived workload, and independent use were assessed using standardized scales and checklists.

Main Results:

• Participants achieved independent use after a brief familiarization period, needing assistance for only 13.46% of tasks.
• The user interface and exercises received good-to-excellent System Usability Scale scores (85.00 and 73.75, respectively).
• Nine participants expressed willingness to use the platform frequently, with perceived workloads within acceptable ranges.

Conclusions:

• The robot-assisted therapy device demonstrates safe and intuitive usability with minimal supervision, meeting usability and workload requirements.
• Preliminary findings highlight areas for improvement to facilitate widespread real-world adoption.
• This platform can augment conventional therapy, enabling higher therapy doses and a continuum of care from clinic to home.