Kenji Hachisuka

About

Kenji Hachisuka is a prominent rehabilitation medicine researcher whose work has significantly advanced the integration of robotics and neurostimulation into post-stroke recovery. Based primarily in Japan, his research focuses on upper extremity rehabilitation, robotic-assisted therapy, and the optimization of recovery protocols for hemiplegia following stroke. Hachisuka's most influential contribution is a landmark multicenter randomized clinical trial demonstrating the efficacy of upper extremity robotic therapy as an adjunct to standard post-stroke rehabilitation (107 citations). His pioneering work combining transcranial direct current stimulation with robot-assisted arm training for chronic stroke patients (82 citations) helped establish a foundation for multimodal neurorehabilitation approaches. He has also investigated gait recovery in non-ambulatory subacute patients using full weight-bearing robotic systems (68 citations), broadening the scope of robotic applications in stroke care. Beyond clinical trials, Hachisuka has contributed to hardware development, co-creating a compact wrist rehabilitation robot guided by myoelectric signals, and explored neurophysiological dimensions of recovery, including cortical activation patterns and EEG-monitored arousal during robotic gait training. His work on stratifying patients by synergy patterns and robotic assistance levels reflects a commitment to personalized rehabilitation strategies — making his body of research essential reading for clinicians and engineers advancing neurorehabilitation technology.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Efficacy of Upper Extremity Robotic Therapy in Subacute Poststroke Hemiplegia

   107 citations · 2016
2. 2
   Effects of anodal and cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation combined with robotic therapy on severely affected arms in chronic stroke patients

   82 citations · 2013
3. 3
   Gait training in subacute non-ambulatory stroke patients using a full weight-bearing gait-assistance robot: A prospective, randomized, open, blinded-endpoint trial

   68 citations · 2015
4. 4
   Impact of the robotic-assistance level on upper extremity function in stroke patients receiving adjunct robotic rehabilitation: sub-analysis of a randomized clinical trial

   58 citations · 2022
5. 5
   Assessment of the Efficacy of ReoGo-J Robotic Training Against Other Rehabilitation Therapies for Upper-Limb Hemiplegia After Stroke: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

   34 citations · 2018
6. 6
   Research and Development of Compact Wrist Rehabilitation Robot System

   23 citations · 2014
7. 7
   Impact of initial flexor synergy pattern scores on improving upper extremity function in stroke patients treated with adjunct robotic rehabilitation: A randomized clinical trial

   12 citations · 2020
8. 8
   Cortical Activation During Robotic Therapy for a Severely Affected Arm in a Chronic Stroke Patient : a Case Report

   12 citations · 2008
9. 9
   Wrist Rehabilitation Robot System and Its Effectiveness for Patients

   12 citations · 2018
10. 10
    Rapid changes in arousal states of healthy volunteers during robot-assisted gait training: a quantitative time-series electroencephalography study

    11 citations · 2014

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links