Sensibility Assessment For User Interface And Training Program Of An Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Robot, D-SEMUL

Abstract

Upper-limb rehabilitation training for hemiplegic patients has been primarily conducted by human therapists, and, hence, their use of training methods and conditions strongly depends on their expertise. The force control and motion sensing functions of rehabilitation robots are expected to be used for the qualitative training/assessment in the next-generation computerized rehabilitation. In this study, we developed a desktop rehabilitation robot for upper limbs (D-SEMUL). In addition, we also assessed the usability of its user interface and the affinity (acceptance) of the training program with a questionnaire for elderly hemiplegic/non-hemiplegic participants (nine hemiplegic, five males and four females and seven non-hemiplegic, two males and five females). The results indicated that the touchscreen is acceptable for the user interface, and the background music used significantly affects the affinity of the program.