Collaboration between Don Gnocchi Foundation (Fdg), Bio-Medical Campus University of Rome (Ucbm) ed Heaxel For him Qualification of the first home tele-rehabilitation platform for stroke patients through the intelligent robotic system icons.
Inserted under the Regional smart specialization strategy (S3 – Biorobotics for rehabilitation) for business continuity and life and co-financed by the European Union through Lazio Innova, The experimental study aims to allow those living in a fragile situation to receive robotic rehabilitation therapy directly at home in a safe, effective and stimulating way thanks to supervision of family members (caregiver, in presence), Alabama control of rehabilitation specialists (remotely, thanks to mobile devices) and with the help of data collected in real time by a set of sensors.
A project that rewards the complementarity and positive collaborations between the different realities of the team to overcome some of the limits imposed by the ongoing pandemic.
“The situation we have experienced has effectively prevented many chronic patients from performing physical therapy at the facilities for almost a year. If we could have had a platform like this, crucial to overcome the limits of social distancing, many would not have registered a significant loss of the results obtained. Those without a functional limb should always continue rehabilitation to maintain limb mobility because maintenance activity is just as important as recovery activity. “said the doctor Irene Aprile, doctor in charge of the S. Maria della Provvidenza Center and director of the Neuromotor Rehabilitation Department of the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation.
The study envisaged the participation of about twenty patients for a total period of 6 months.
The environment provides, on the one hand, the administration of therapy through the icon robot developed by Heaxel and, on the other hand, the integration of mobile devices (tablets and smartphones) in order to allow the Foundation therapist to see in real time the performance of patients as if they were present and correct them if necessaryor. The image is completed with the integrated icon sensors and the kit of portable sensors prepared by Ucbm (from the sensors to monitor physiological parameters, such as heart rate, respiratory rate and galvanic impedance to the magneto-inertial sensors to monitor the joint kinematics during the rehabilitation exercise). A scenario that will allow the multidisciplinary team to select the optimal protocol to carry out teleconsultation and telerehabilitation, in full operation, with only the icon rehabilitation robot without remote supervision.
«All data from the therapy session is collected in the cloud: in real time those of the sensors integrated in icons and at the beginning and at the end of the treatment those acquired by the wearable sensors ”, added prof. ssa Loredana Zollo by Ucbm. These, together with the visual feedback from the therapist, make it possible to objectively assess the physiological state and motor performance of the patient, modulate the rehabilitation treatment and increasingly adapt the robot to the patient who can, at any time, communicate any difficulty. or fatigue in conducting therapy “.
An innovative experimental scenario to which the icons, more than other tools, lend themselves very well as specifically designed for rehabilitation treatments at home not only in synchronous mode, as is usual in the structure, but also asynchronously. Even when the therapist does not preside over all sessions, the patient can still benefit from the schedule established by the specialist and the supervision of the caregiver.
The compact, portable, all-in-one plug-and-play icon robot actually allows limited physical contact and can be used by patients who have an upper-limb motor deficit, minor spasticity, and are unable to interact with the robot while the movements to be carried out are illustrated in the video in the form of interactive games (exergames, exercise + videogames).
«The study represents in a future perspective a great opportunity for home therapy with remote assistance and it paves the way for a more equitable access to this type of action ”, he commented. Filippo Lorenzi, Heaxel CEO. “Just think of the difficulties that a patient who lives in a small provincial town, far from the main medical centers, can encounter, as well as the one who lives in a city like metropolitan Rome, where traveling takes a long time. The entry of the robot into the homes of patients represents a truly significant change since in the future everyone will have the opportunity to take advantage of treatments of this type, overcoming the inequalities between different regions and geographical areas ”.
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