Multijoint arm stiffness during movements following stroke: Implications for robot therapy

D. Piovesan*, M. Casadio, F. A. Mussa-Ivaldi, P. G. Morasso

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Impaired arm movements in stroke appear as a set of stereotypical kinematic patterns, characterized by abnormal joint coupling, which have a direct consequence on arm mechanics and can be quantified by the net arm stiffness at the hand. The current available measures of arm stiffness during functional tasks have limited clinical use, since they require several repetitions of the same test movement in many directions. Such procedure is difficult to obtain in stroke survivors who have lower fatigue threshold and increased variability compared to unimpaired individuals. The present study proposes a novel, fast quantitative measure of arm stiffness during movements by means of a Time-Frequency technique and the use of a reassigned spectrogram, applied on a trial-by-trial basis with a single perturbation. We tested the technique feasibility during robot mediated therapy, where a robot helped stroke survivors to regain arm mobility by providing assistive forces during a hitting task to 13 targets covering the entire reachable workspace. The endpoint stiffness of the paretic arm was estimated at the end of each hitting movements by suddenly switching of the assistive forces and observing the ensuing recoil movements. In addition, we considered how assistive forces influence stiffness. This method will provide therapists with improved tools to target the treatment to the individual's specific impairment and to verify the effects of the proposed exercises.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2011 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, ICORR 2011 - Rehab Week Zurich 2011
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011
EventRehab Week Zurich 2011 - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, ICORR 2011 - Zurich, Switzerland
Duration: Jun 27 2011Jul 1 2011

Publication series

NameIEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics
ISSN (Print)1945-7898
ISSN (Electronic)1945-7901

Other

OtherRehab Week Zurich 2011 - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, ICORR 2011
Country/TerritorySwitzerland
CityZurich
Period6/27/117/1/11

Funding

Keywords

  • arm impedance
  • robot therapy
  • stiffness
  • stroke

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Rehabilitation
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Control and Systems Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Multijoint arm stiffness during movements following stroke: Implications for robot therapy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this