Use of Humanoid Robot in Children with Cerebral Palsy: The Ups and Downs in Clinical Experience

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder that impairs motor function in children resulting in limitation to execute active daily life. It is caused by the non-progressive insult to the immature brain. The common features of children with CP are spasticity, muscle weakness, balance and poor motor function. CP may also affect cognitive function. Recently, the technology of rehabilitation robotic has gained great interest in the research field for disabled children. The humanoid robot is one type of the Socially Assistive Robotic (SAR) that has the potential to be used in rehabilitation for children with CP. This study gave repetitive exposure to two children with CP through the humanoid robot NAO in four interactive scenarios for once a week over a period of eight weeks. This work is expected to examine how the human-robot interaction (HRI) impacts the attention and gross motor function. This paper aims to describe the clinical experiences and challenges using the humanoid robot for therapy in children with CP.