PNEUMATIC PLANAR REHABILITATION ROBOT FOR POST-STROKE PATIENTS

Cerebrovascular accident or stroke in aging population is the primary cause of disability and the second leading cause of death in many countries, including Spain. Arm impairment is common and the recovery is partly dependent on the intensity and frequency of rehabilitation intervention. However, physical therapy resources are often limited, so methods of supplementing traditional physiotherapy, such as robot assisted therapy, are essential. This paper describes design, development and control aspects of a planar robot driven by pneumatic swivel modules for upper-limb rehabilitation of post-stroke patients. Moreover, first experimental results with one post-stroke patient are presented to show the bene fits of using the proposed system.