Farnaz Abdollahi

About

Farnaz Abdollahi’s research lies at the intersection of neurorehabilitation, assistive robotics, and human-machine interaction, with a core focus on restoring upper-limb function after stroke. Her most influential work, the 2013 paper “Error Augmentation Enhancing Arm Recovery in Individuals With Chronic Stroke” (148 citations), pioneered the use of augmented error signals—visual and haptic distortions—to retrain motor coordination, demonstrating that amplifying movement errors can paradoxically accelerate recovery. This concept was further refined in her 2011 study (38 citations) and extended to bimanual therapy in a 2018 double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Abdollahi also advanced assistive technology through her 2015 work on shared autonomy and Body-Machine Interfaces (67 citations), enabling individuals with motor impairments to control robotic manipulators for daily tasks like feeding and opening doors. Her 2015 telerehabilitation study (6 citations) introduced a self-administered bimanual training protocol, effectively creating an “upper-extremity treadmill” for home use. With over 260 total citations, Abdollahi’s contributions bridge cutting-edge robotics and clinical practice, offering scalable, evidence-based solutions for stroke survivors.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Error Augmentation Enhancing Arm Recovery in Individuals With Chronic Stroke

   148 citations · 2013
2. 2
   Assistive robotic manipulation through shared autonomy and a Body-Machine Interface

   67 citations · 2015
3. 3
   Arm control recovery enhanced by error augmentation

   38 citations · 2011
4. 4
   Error-augmented bimanual therapy for stroke survivors

   9 citations · 2018
5. 5
   Multivariate outcomes in a three week bimanual self-telerehabilitation with error augmentation post-stroke

   6 citations · 2015

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links