Cardiac rehabilitation for older patients with cardiovascular pathology using robotic systems – A survey

Abstract

In the last decades, we have witnessed a drastic increase in the proportion of elders in the western countries, and more than a third of worldwide population dies because of cardiovascular diseases. The elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases, but not only, are frail and need constant assistance, and so the healthcare system will slowly become incapable of properly address all the patients' medical problems and rehabilitation issues, while aiming towards a continuous increase of the life quality. The rehabilitation robotic systems have the potential to stimulate and support the re-learning of the functional motor pattern of over-ground walking in an optimal manner while increasing patient's motivation, which constitutes a crucial element in the subject's cardiac recovery. Thus, the present article aims at reviewing the robotic systems available for cardiac rehabilitation in elders with cardiac pathology.

Home-Based Robotic Upper Limbs Cardiac Telerehabilitation System

“…Exoskeleton actuators supply much of the power needed to execute a job, while the person provides control signals. The individual becomes an integral part of the exoskeleton and exerts a force proportional to his or her new role in the system [ 17 , 40 ] The main difference between the two types of robotic systems used for rehabilitation is that exoskeletons cannot be used at home without qualified supervision, while the system proposed in this paper is intended to be used at home.…”

“…Telerehabilitation therapies could be employed in phase II of the CR as well as in phase III of the CR to support long-term compliance with physical activity recommendations. The TELEREHAB III experiment [ 17 , 18 ] discovered that a 6-month telerehabilitation program resulted in increased physical fitness and quality of life (QoL). Furthermore, the experiment showed that this intervention (CR with telerehabilitation) resulted in long-term health benefits and was cost effective for up to two years.…”

Cardiac Rehabilitation Early after Sternotomy Using New Assistive VR-Enhanced Robotic Exoskeleton—Study Protocol for a Randomised Controlled Trial

“…2014 00821/03.11.2014 [27,28], and "Arterial puncture device for arterial blood gas sampling from radial artery and method for using the device", OSIM, No. A00475/13.07.2017 [29] and on four research papers [5,6,27,28], prove their ability to develop and identify new research opportunities applied directly to the rehabilitation of cardiac patients. Also, the expertise of the member of the project regarding the cardiac surgery and rehabilitation of cardiac patients, a top clinical and research centre from Romania, recommended it to be a valuable partner of this project.…”

“…A suitable rehabilitation is essential for enabling those people to live independently and enhance their quality of life (QoL) as they age. Most of these rehabilitation treatments need sessions of rehabilitation therapy to fortify muscles, to improve the motion of joints, to restore cardiac functional capabilities, and to globally increase freedom of movement [4,5]. In order to be time efficient, a CR therapy after open cardiac surgery should start in 2 of 12 hospital and continue partly under supervision, partly at home, for 2 to 6 weeks [5,6].…”

“…Most of these rehabilitation treatments need sessions of rehabilitation therapy to fortify muscles, to improve the motion of joints, to restore cardiac functional capabilities, and to globally increase freedom of movement [4,5]. In order to be time efficient, a CR therapy after open cardiac surgery should start in 2 of 12 hospital and continue partly under supervision, partly at home, for 2 to 6 weeks [5,6]. The continuity of care is often interrupted in the transition from hospital to home due to the limited number of qualified human therapists that should supervise the CR.…”