Tara S. Patterson

Brown University, Providence VA Medical Center

Papers

Total Citations

140

H-Index

About

Tara S. Patterson is a leading researcher in neurorehabilitation engineering, with a primary focus on developing robotic interventions for gait impairments in Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis. Her pioneering work bridges robotics and clinical neurology to improve locomotor function in patients with movement disorders. Patterson’s most influential study, "Reduction of freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease by repetitive robot-assisted treadmill training: a pilot study" (2010, 91 citations), demonstrated that repetitive robotic gait training can significantly alleviate freezing of gait—a debilitating symptom of Parkinson’s. This work established a foundation for robot-assisted therapies targeting episodic motor blocks. She also advanced the quantitative assessment of neuromuscular function through "Static ankle impedance in stroke and multiple sclerosis: A feasibility study" (2011, 29 citations), showing that robotic systems can reliably measure ankle impedance in neurologically impaired patients. Additionally, her feasibility study on entrainment with ankle mechanical perturbation (2011, 20 citations) introduced a novel strategy for exploiting natural gait dynamics through periodic robotic torque, offering a promising alternative to conventional walking therapy. Patterson’s contributions have shaped the integration of robotics into personalized neurorehabilitation, providing new tools to restore mobility and improve quality of life for patients with chronic neurological conditions.