MIT robotically works towards helping stroke patients

MIT researchers are closely studying how robotic therapy could potentially help stroke patients to regain their abilities to move their arms.

Albert Lo, one of many researchers leading this robotic therapy research says that current findings have been tested within the first six months after the stroke, successfully.

“This study examined the effectiveness of a class of robotic devices developed at MIT, found that in chronic stroke survivors, robot-assisted therapy led to modest improvements in upper-body motor function and quality of life six months after active therapy was completed; these improvements were significant when compared with a group of stroke patients who received the traditional treatment. Moreover, the robotic therapy - which involves a more intense regimen of activity than traditional stroke therapy -did not increase total health-care costs per stroke patient, and could make intensive therapy available to more people”, says Lo and his colleagues.

The MIT - Manus, a robot developed by MIT Hermano Krebs, was used to conduct robotic therapy research and aid the patients in their movements.

The robotic therapy process, developed and researched by Krebs, Lo, and other colleagues, starts by having the patient grasping a robotic joystick that helps guide the patient’s arm, wrist or hand as he or she tries to make specific movements, “helping the brain form new connections that will eventually help the patient relearn to move the limb on his or her own,” says Krebs. “If the person starts moving in the wrong direction or does not move, the robotic arm gently nudges his or her arm in the right direction”.