Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.0
3.8
Journals
Bioengineering
Special Issues
Robotic Assisted Rehabilitation and Therapy
share announcement

Robotic Assisted Rehabilitation and Therapy

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosignal Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 5281

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Carlos A. Jara

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
HUman Robotics Group, Universitat d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
Interests: design and robot simulation; robotic manipulation; human–robot interaction; assistive and rehabilitation robotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Andres Ubeda

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
HUman Robotics Group, Universitat d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
Interests: neurorehabilitation; myoelectric control or brain control; human–robot interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The number of people with congenital and/or acquired disabilities are quickly increasing, and therefore there are many dependents who lack the necessary autonomy for a fully independent life. In addition, the functional recovery of these disabled people is variable and specific to each patient and depends on the seriousness of the injury and the type of pathology. These issues have motivated the scientific community to provide new research and development in complementary tools to increase the effectiveness and adaptability of conventional rehabilitation therapy. On the one hand, the use of rehabilitation and assistive robotic devices provides a more efficient recovery during therapy. On the other hand, biosensing technologies provide robust ways of assessing the user’s motor or cognitive intentions. Both technologies combined lead to critical improvements in motor or cognitive function recovery in patient therapy.

This Special Issue is focused on breakthrough developments in the field of robotic devices for assisted rehabilitation therapy as well as biosensors applied in the assessment of function recovery during patient therapy. Papers should address innovative robotic solutions for assistance and rehabilitation of impaired people combined with the acquisition of biomechanical or cognitive information using a variety of techniques, including electrophysiology, computer vision and motion tracking. Both review articles and original research papers are encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Carlos A. Jara
Dr. Andres Ubeda
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Bioengineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • assistive rehabilitation robotics
  • electromyography (EMG)
  • electroencephalography (EEG)
  • computer vision and AI algorithms
  • exoskeletons or exosuits for assistance/rehabilitation
  • collaborative manipulators for assistive rehabilitation therapy

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 8582 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of Myoelectric Control Modes for an Assistive Robotic Virtual Platform
by Cristina Polo-Hortigüela, Miriam Maximo, Carlos A. Jara, Jose L. Ramon, Gabriel J. Garcia and Andres Ubeda
Bioengineering 2024, 11(5), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11050473 - 9 May 2024
Viewed by 1027
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a daily living situation where objects in a kitchen can be grasped and stored in specific containers using a virtual robot arm operated by different myoelectric control modes. The main goal of this study is to prove the [...] Read more.
In this paper, we propose a daily living situation where objects in a kitchen can be grasped and stored in specific containers using a virtual robot arm operated by different myoelectric control modes. The main goal of this study is to prove the feasibility of providing virtual environments controlled through surface electromyography that can be used for the future training of people using prosthetics or with upper limb motor impairments. We propose that simple control algorithms can be a more natural and robust way to interact with prostheses and assistive robotics in general than complex multipurpose machine learning approaches. Additionally, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of adding intelligence to the setup to automatically assist grasping activities. The results show very good performance across all participants who share similar opinions regarding the execution of each of the proposed control modes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotic Assisted Rehabilitation and Therapy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 3080 KiB  
Article
Design and Control of a Soft Knee Exoskeleton for Pediatric Patients at Early Stages of the Walking Learning Process
by Paloma Mansilla Navarro, Dorin Copaci and Dolores Blanco Rojas
Bioengineering 2024, 11(2), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11020188 - 15 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1517
Abstract
Pediatric patients can suffer from different motor disorders that limit their neurological and motor development and hinder their independence. If treated at the very early stages of development, those limitations can be palliated or even removed. However, manual interventions are not completely effective [...] Read more.
Pediatric patients can suffer from different motor disorders that limit their neurological and motor development and hinder their independence. If treated at the very early stages of development, those limitations can be palliated or even removed. However, manual interventions are not completely effective due to the restrictions in terms of time, force, or tracking experienced by the physiotherapists. The knee flexo-extension is crucial for walking and often affected by disorders such as spasticity or lack of force in the posterior chain. This article focuses on the development of a knee exosuit to follow angular trajectories mimicking the maximum and minimum peaks present in the knee flexo-extension profiles of healthy individuals during walking. The proposed exosuit is based on shape memory alloy actuators along with four inertial sensors that close the control loop. The whole device is controlled through a two-level controller and has an hybrid rigid–flexible design to overcome the different issues present in the literature. The device was proven to be feasible for this type of application, with replicable and consistent behavior, reducing the price and weight of existing exosuits and enhancing patient comfort. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotic Assisted Rehabilitation and Therapy)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

17 pages, 4708 KiB  
Article
Usability and Feasibility Assessment of a Social Assistive Robot for the Older People: Results from the GUARDIAN Project
by Giulio Amabili, Elvira Maranesi, Arianna Margaritini, Marco Benadduci, Federico Barbarossa, Sara Casaccia, Henk Herman Nap and Roberta Bevilacqua
Bioengineering 2024, 11(1), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11010020 - 24 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1941
Abstract
In Italy, many people aged over 65 cannot live independently, causing an overall decrease in their quality of life and a need for social and health care. Due to the lack of both formal and informal caregivers, technological solutions become of paramount importance [...] Read more.
In Italy, many people aged over 65 cannot live independently, causing an overall decrease in their quality of life and a need for social and health care. Due to the lack of both formal and informal caregivers, technological solutions become of paramount importance in this scenario. This article describes the user-centered development of the GUARDIAN ecosystem, consisting of a social robot integrated with two mobile applications which aim to monitor, coach, and keep the older user company in order to prolong his/her independence at home. In particular, the advancements from the alpha to the beta prototype of the ecosystem are described, achieved through the feedback collected from 41 end users—older people and their carers—that have tested the system for 6 weeks. By enhancing human–robot interaction, a positive improvement in terms of usability and acceptability of the system was retrieved. However, to increase the perceived usefulness and the impact on older users’ lives, it is necessary to make the entire system more customizable, and more capable in providing support for daily activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Robotic Assisted Rehabilitation and Therapy)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop