Lower limb rehabilitation robotics: The current understanding and technology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: With the increasing rate of ambulatory disabilities and rise in the elderly population, advance methods to deliver the rehabilitation and assistive services to patients have become important. Lower limb robotic therapeutic and assistive aids have been found to improve the rehabilitation outcome. OBJECTIVE: The article aims to present the updated understanding in the field of lower limb rehabilitation robotics and identify future research avenues. METHODS: Groups of keywords relating to assistive technology, rehabilitation robotics, and lower limb were combined and searched in EMBASE, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar database. RESULTS: Based on the literature collected from the databases we provide an overview of the understanding of robotics in rehabilitation and state of the art devices for lower limb rehabilitation. Technological advancements in rehabilitation robotic architecture (sensing, actuation and control) and biomechanical considerations in design have been discussed. Finally, a discussion on the major advances, research directions, and challenges is presented. CONCLUSIONS: Although the use of robotics has shown a promising approach to rehabilitation and reducing the burden on caregivers, extensive and innovative research is still required in both cognitive and physical human-robot interaction to achieve treatment efficacy and efficiency.