Robot-Assisted Rehabilitation for Neurological Disorders

The mortality rate of people with neurological disorders (e.g. stroke, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, etc.) is decreasing due to advancements in medical research. However, neurological disorders can result in long-term disabilities and significant improvements are still required for cost and time effective recovery of neurological functions. In recent years, research on rehabilitation robotics has progressed from proposing solutions for the clinical field to more portable solutions tailored to the user's requirements. However, more efforts are still needed in the development of robotic solutions for neurological rehabilitation that are accessible to a large number of patients.

The primary focus of the proposed Research Topic is to present cutting edge robotic solutions to boost the rehabilitation process for neurological disorders. We aim to highlight recent advances in the development of these robotic devices including:

• A comprehensive review of recent developments in the area of rehabilitation robotics
• Information and recent achievements on both therapeutic and assistive robots
• Focuses on the state-of-the-art and representative advancements in the design, simulation, control, analysis, implementation, serious games and validation of rehabilitation robotic systems.

The proposed Research Topic invites theoretical and experimental results dealing with techniques for the design, simulation, and control systems for rehabilitation devices. We are particularly interested in research that explores the development of devices that are cost-effective and can be produced at scale.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Rehabilitation and assistive robotics for neurological disorders
• Human-machine interfaces in rehabilitation
• Serious Games applied to rehabilitation
• Novel advancements in assistive devices for neurological rehabilitation
• Wearable rehabilitation devices
• Robotics in clinical practice and beyond

Cover image designed by Freepik

Keywords: Robotics in clinical practice, Advanced prosthetics, Human-machine interfaces in rehabilitation, Wearable devices, Rehabilitation and assitive robotics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.