ICORR Workshop “Translating Rehabilitation Robotics into Clinical Applications”

Workshop

The workshop will take place on 1 September on the BioRob 2024 in Heidelberg.
9:00-13:00 Room 6

Abstract

Robots can be very useful to restore movement abilities of upper and lower limbs. First, they can promote rehabilitation as training devices after injuries such as spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury and stroke. Second, they can be used as assistive devices to support patients or elders with gait impairments in daily life situations. However, current mechatronic solutions are still too bulky, and their sensory technologies and control strategies are still too primitive to support the correct motion and motion intention. Furthermore, they still require a lot of effort, labor and/or surveillance by a human therapist and they are expensive and often not covered by health insurances.

Consequently, the use of robots is less intensive than it could be, and they are not yet broadly accepted by the patients and medical staff. Therefore, we need to better connect engineers with clinicians and scientists with practitioners, health care administrators and insurance companies to better define the needs and preferences of the patients, find the responders of future robot-aided therapy and enhance the distribution and acceptance of the technologies. Usability and function of the rehabilitation robots must change not only to increase acceptability but also to improve the effectiveness and, eventually, the therapy outcome and quality of life of the patients who require physiotherapy or occupational therapy.

Organizers  

1. Robert Riener, corresponding author  (ETH Zurich & University Hospital Balgrist, Switzerland)
   
2. Jonathon Sensinger (University of New Brunswick, Canada)
   
3. Meret Branscheidt (Cereneo Schweiz AG & University Hospital Zurich)