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[Purpose] The effects of various rhythmic auditory stimulation tempos on stroke gait pattern changes when training patients with a smartphone-based rhythmic auditory stimulation application were investigated. [Subjects and Methods] Fifteen patients with chronic stroke were included. Cadence during comfortable walking was measured (baseline). After the baseline findings were recorded, rhythmic auditory stimulation with five different tempos (i.e., −10%, −5%, 0%, +5%, and +10% change from baseline) was randomly applied. Finally, comfortable walking without rhythmic auditory stimulation was initiated to evaluate gait pattern changes. [Results] As the tempo increased, the spatiotemporal gait parameters of the stroke patients changed significantly. Gait speed, cadence, and gait cycle duration showed the greatest improvement in the +10% rhythmic auditory stimulation condition compared to baseline. After gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulation, gait speed, cadence, stride length, gait cycle duration, and step length of the affected and unaffected sides improved significantly compared to baseline. [Conclusion] Significant changes in the gait pattern of stroke patients were noted for various tempos after training with rhythmic auditory stimulation. These findings could be used to customize rehabilitative gait training for patients who experience stroke with hemiplegia.

Various robotic systems have been proposed to provide assistance in activities related to daily living and in physical therapy. Our consortium developed a prototype assistive robotic module, called the "smart mobile walker," which is a motorized walker. This robotic device was developed to assist with the mobility of senior citizens and persons with disabilities such as stroke survivors and people with spinal cord injuries. A pilot study was performed with four senior citizens to evaluate the usability of the system relative to a commercial walker. The participants performed a "10-meter walk test" (10MWT) with either the smart mobile walker or a commercial walker on flat, upward-sloping, and downward-sloping surfaces, indoors over five days. An electromyography (EMG) signal and the heart rate were recorded, and the gait parameters including the speed, cadence, stride length, and gait cycle duration were measured to evaluate the system usability. The participants performed better with the commercial walker on the flat and upward-sloping surfaces owing to the unit's light weight. On the downward-sloping surface, however, the speed control offered by the smart mobile walker was found to outweigh the advantage of the light weight of the commercial walker.

Analyzing activities of daily living (ADL) for the development of practical upper limb rehabilitation robots is challenging in stroke patients. Basic ADL tasks using an upper limb are defined based on clinical assessment tools. The motions of 8 healthy participants and 8 stroke patients were recorded during defined ADL tasks, and then analyzed with respect to completion time, linearity of motion, and range of motion of the joints. Completion time and motion trajectories were significantly different between stroke subjects and healthy participants. For tasks involving the transfer of an object from a table to the user's mouth, wrist radial-ulnar deviation motions should be taken into account while designing robots for gross movements via elbow and shoulder joints. Our findings can be extended to the design of trajectories of rehabilitation robots as well as of simplified robots.

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