Robotic rehabilitation exercise in hemiparetic limbs based on functional synchronization of voluntary and involuntary nerve impulses

This research aims to characterize the neuromechanical mechanisms associated with the facilitation techniques for functional recovery of hemiparetic limbs, referred to as repetitive facilitation exercise or RFE. The research investigates the facilitation exercise paradigm and re-implementation with the addition of a pneumatically driven robotic device. A fully automated, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) compatible rehabilitation device is to be built to help validate the hypothesized mechanism of the RFE. The research will establish methodologies for precise impact timing control of a pneumatic robotic hammer and multimodal instruction cues to realize the robotic RFE procedure that is capable of being used in MRI environment. This paper presents the authors´ initial development that aims to understand the mechanisms of robotic RFE and addresses challenges that must be resolved.