Margaret Finley

University of Indianapolis, VA Maryland Health Care System

Papers

Total Citations

229

H-Index

About

Margaret Finley’s research lies at the intersection of rehabilitation engineering and neurorecovery, with a primary focus on restoring upper-limb function after stroke through robotic therapy. Her landmark randomized trial, “Effect of Gravity on Robot-Assisted Motor Training After Chronic Stroke” (2011, 121 citations), demonstrated that modulating gravity support during robot-assisted training can significantly improve motor outcomes in chronic stroke survivors, offering a critical design principle for future rehabilitation robots. Earlier, Finley’s work on “Short-duration robotic therapy in stroke patients with severe upper-limb motor impairment” (2005, 93 citations) provided foundational evidence that even brief, targeted robotic interventions can yield measurable gains in severely impaired patients—challenging assumptions about the necessity of prolonged therapy. She has also advanced the field by rigorously testing the reliability of robotic assessments, as in her 2009 study on healthy adults (15 citations), ensuring that robot-derived metrics are robust for tracking recovery. Finley’s contributions have shaped how clinicians and engineers design robot-assisted therapies, emphasizing dose, timing, and task-specificity. Her work continues to influence the development of accessible, evidence-based robotic tools for stroke rehabilitation.