Sandra Puentes

University of Tsukuba Hospital, University of Tsukuba

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Sandra Puentes is a leading researcher in neurorehabilitation robotics, with a focus on restoring motor function after neurological injury. Her work centers on understanding and reshaping gait coordination through robotic intervention, particularly in patients with myelopathy and hemiparetic stroke. Puentes’s major contributions include demonstrating that the Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL) robot suit can effectively retrain bilateral gait patterns in stroke survivors, as shown in her 2018 study (19 citations), and that robotic therapy can reorganize spinal coordination in myelopathy patients after surgery (21 citations). She also pioneered the development of a joint synergy-based rehabilitative exoskeleton for rodents (2022), a translational model that allows researchers to investigate optimal therapy protocols and robot-assist parameters in controlled preclinical settings. This innovative approach addresses a critical gap in neurorehabilitation—the lack of evidence-based tuning of robotic assistance. With over 40 total citations across her key works, Puentes is shaping the future of robot-assisted recovery, bridging the gap between animal models and human clinical applications to improve outcomes for patients with spinal cord injury and stroke.