Brainwave-reading robot ‘coaches’ could rehabilitate stroke survivors

Rehabilitation robots

The robots used in the study were programmed to help patients adhere to their rehabilitation routines without the intervention of a human medical practitioner. They are able to provide personalized support based on the patient’s individual requirements.

Such systems could be used to help stroke and brain injury victims rehabilitate limb impairments. The headset the researchers developed for the trial uses a brain computer interface (BCI), that is able to read neural activity. Unlike Neuralink’s BCI technology, this headset doesn’t require surgery to utilize.

According the the researchers behind the project, roughly 80 percent of acute stroke and brain injury survivors suffer an upper limb impairment, which can drastically affect their quality of life.

However, rehabilitating limb movement requires repetitive exercises, which can be a problem for stroke and brain injury survivors. Often, they also suffer from forgetfulness, meaning roughly 70 percent don’t complete their prescribed rehabilitation routines.

In a press statement, Lynne Baillie, academic lead at the National Robotarium for human-robot interaction, said: “We envision a future where patients have access to personalized robotic coaches that support clinicians and experts to deliver even more successful rehabilitation journeys.”

A three-month robotic ‘coach’ trial

Over a three-month period, the VITALISE team carried out a trial with 16 stroke and brain injury survivors. Six therapists were present to record and test the system’s capacity for understanding user intention and providing motivation. They set out to determine whether the robots could read brain waves and provide real-time examples of the movements the patients had to perform.

The researchers also questioned the patients to determine how effective the robots were are motivating and guiding them through their exercises. 

“Especially in the field of eHealth, co-design methods are very helpful and work well,” Markus Garschall, a scientist at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Center for Technology Experience, and vice president of AAL AUSTRIA, explained in a press statement. 

“It was important for us to examine the user experience as well as the feasibility of the approach for both people with hemiparesis and physiotherapists,” he continued. “At the same time, the transnational collaboration with scientists from Scotland was also very inspiring; we need much more European cooperation and exchange, especially in the healthcare sector.”