Watering the flowers: virtual haptic environments for training of forearm rotation in persons with central nervous deficits

Abstract

Persons with central nervous deficits, such as MS and stroke patients, can benefit a lot from suitable training approaches that enhance their ability to perform activities in daily life. As performing rotations with the forearm (pro- and supination movements) is essential in many daily tasks, we use this as an example to illustrate our structured rehabilitation approach for the upper extremities. The results of the patient-centric design and development of the rehabilitation robotics system are illustrated, and several levels of interactive training exercises in virtual haptic enviromnments are shown. Considerations regarding the system setup as well as hardware adjustments to the haptic device and peripheral equipment are described. Evaluations with patients and therapists demonstrate the importance of the patient-centric approach and reveal appreciation for the resulting interactive training system.