Human Impedance control for Tailored Rehabilitation

• Applicants: Professor Claudio Castellini, Ph.D.; Professor Lorenzo Masia, Ph.D.; Professor Dr.-Ing. Rüdiger Rupp
• Subject Area: Biomedical Systems Technology ; Automation, Mechatronics, Control Systems, Intelligent Technical Systems, Robotics ; Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 505327336

Arm and hand function rehabilitation of patients with neurological impairments is mainly based on the repetitive execution of a set of movement tasks. Currently, the execution of the tasks is manually assisted by qualified therapists and/or by robotic therapy devices. However, the current therapy approaches are not fully congruent with the principles of motor learning, failing to generate rich proprioceptive physiological afferent feedback from weak muscles and actively involve patients in executing meaningful motor tasks. Moreover, uniform robotic-aided therapies do not shape the content of the training to each patient’s specific needs and abilities (“challenge and encourage”), thus not making full use of the individual’s rehabilitative potential. To help close this gap we hereby focus on patients with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and introduce human impedance control driven by machine-learning-based reliable intent detection as a novel methodology for restorative therapies. Concretely, the goal of this project is to build a demonstrator for implementation of the impedance control method supporting patients in the early phase after SCI to move their impaired upper limb to a desired target. We will be using a lightweight, unobtrusive active orthotic support system able to elicit active muscle contractions via neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The demonstrator will be tested by up to three patients with acute cervical SCI and the associated impairment of upper extremity functions. The patients will be followed for up to 12 weeks to monitor the acceptance and usability of the demonstrator and potential therapeutic effects of the methodology, by comparison with a matched historical control group from the large European Multicenter Study about Spinal Cord Injury (EMSCI) network. All hard- and software characteristics of the demonstrator, as well as those of the therapy, will be tailored to the individual needs of single patients from the beginning. The proof of the feasibility of the demonstrator will pave the way for the development of innovative hybrid technical therapy devices combining various actuators. Ultimately, this will lead to a more effective neurorehabilitation of many patient groups with neurological impairments of motor functions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants