Rehab Robots Could Work as Assistive Personnel, Human Caregivers in Supporting Stroke Patients

Latest research on rehabilitation support theory suggests that services catering to stroke patients do not need to perform hands-on tasks necessarily.

There are many therapies that are carried out during the rehabilitation process of brain condition patients. Many individuals, for example, need a rehabilitation process that includes physical therapy such as walking and sitting to revive their natural motor skills.

Occupational therapy, on the other hand, involves sessions that could improve essential daily routines such as dressing up and eating. Speech therapy includes teaching patients how to bring back their vocal and speech patterns due to an effect of a neurological problem.

While these therapies require many caregivers to help patients during the sessions, there is seemingly a shortage of personnel in these types of rehabilitation facilities. The problem lies with the lack of budget and insufficient staff in the industry.

Supporting Stroke Patients During Rehabilitation and Therapies

Substitutes could assist patients in doing their physical therapies. However, these ínformal caregivers do not always have the corresponding knowledge, patience, and skill set to fully assist stroke patients.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience specialist and lead author of the study Shelly Levy-Tzedek explained that this type of rehabilitation and therapy issue could be resolved by relaying assistive robots to patients, helping them get back their social cues, physical activities, cognition in an event that human caregivers are not available.

In the first quarter of 2022, Levy-Tzedek carried out a study along with colleagues that developed a systematic approach for improving rehabilitation initiatives. Results showed that assistive robots could effectively give patients the support they need in the same quality that human caregivers offer.

The team assembled a platform that includes a robotic game exercise for patients dealing with stroke and needs a long-term rehabilitation process. Along with the platform, the team also identified seven activities that effectively stimulate functional tasks, as well as using the help of Softbank Robotics semi-humanoid machine named Pepper to assist individuals going through these specialized activities.

Socially Assistive Robots as Rehabilitation Caregivers

Shelly Levy-Tzedek said in a report by NoCamels that socially assistive robots do not need to relay physical help to patients undergoing therapy. These machines are not required to move mediums for the patients or even parts of a human body.

The author said that socially assistive robots could work while the patient is doing personal exercise on their own. The robots have the capacity to provide the individuals with companionship, motivation, and a gamified setup that improves the emotional side of the patient as they go through activities similar to playing compared to complex relearning and completion of other conventional approaches.

In addition, the assistive robots could be taken home in the future after several studies in order to support patients even in their own, convenient spaces.

From an examination of 11 stroke patients and 12 informal caregivers who were all given a chance to work with the socially assistive robots, experts found that the majority of the participants experienced convenience and connection with the machines, expressing interest in utilizing the technology for rehabilitation purposes in facilities and home alike.

These participants included stroke patients that were healthy prior to the condition. The pilot experiment was carried out in a laboratory, and afterward, with actual stroke patients, during the course of two years under the pandemic.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, titled "A Socially Assistive Robot for Stroke Patients: Acceptance, Needs, and Concerns of Patients and Informal Caregivers."

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