To find out more information about becoming a participant in a research study        Click here.

 

Consulting Agreement Consultant: David Reinkensmeyer, Ph.D.

University of CA, Irvine-Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department

The goal of this project is to use a novel robotic therapy device, the ARM Guide, to improve recovery of upper extremity function after stroke.  We have already demonstrated in an initial pilot study that the device can improve movement recovery following chronic stroke.  However, the results from our study, combined with evidence from other recent studies of robotic therapy, suggest that robotic therapy might be substantially enhanced by specifically targeting abnormal force generation after stroke, a therapeutic paradigm where subjects will use biofeedback of arm forces to consciously direct their movements towards a desired target.  The current project will implement this novel form of robotic therapy, called “guided force training”, and test whether this therapy can improve recovery beyond previous forms of robotic and conventional therapy.

To help achieve these goals, Dr. Reinkensmeyer will provide consulting in the following areas:

• Software and hardware modifications needed to implement the guided force training protocol
• Experimental design, included therapeutic and evaluation protocols and subject selection
• Software development for data analysis, including Matlab scripts for processing data from the ARM Guide
• Analysis and dissemination of the experimental results, including publication in conference and journal papers.