PedBot: robotically assisted ankle robot and video game for children with neuromuscular disorders

Toward Evaluation of the Subjective Experience of a General Class of User-Controlled, Robot-Mediated Rehabilitation Technologies for Children with Neuromotor Disability

“…We searched the literature to identify existing studies of adherence in home exercise programs (HEP) for children with CP: those implemented manually (by children and parents) [13,14] and those facilitated by technologies that incorporated games to incentivize engagement [35][36][37][38][39]. We used these inputs in conjunction with items from the PYTHEIA [31] to develop a schedule (see Supplementary Materials) to probe the user experience of seven families who had just completed a month-long, home pilot of PedBotHome, [16,18,19,24] an A/R gamebot prototype designed to promote ankle stretching and strengthening therapeutic exercise.…”

“…The challenge optimal intervention presents, both in terms of clinic scheduling and travel time on the part of the child and family/caregiver, could be lessened through leverage of a home-based robotic platform that delivers stretching and strengthening exercises in proper form, at frequency and intensity most appropriate to the child with CP. The positive effect [15,16] of robot-mediated ankle maneuvers on gait therapeutic targets has been demonstrated, as has the feasibility of the transfer of the technology from lab to clinic [17] and home [18][19][20]. Delivering physical therapy interventions to children with CP in a game-play context (i.e., games used seriously) has likewise been shown to spur interest and motivate engagement fairly consistently across a wide range of therapeutic targets involving both lower and upper extremities [21,22].…”

Toward Evaluation of The Subjective Experience of A General Class of User-Controlled, Robot-Mediated Rehabilitation Technologies for Children with Neuromotor Disability

“…We searched the literature to identify existing studies of adherence in home exercise programs (HEP) for children with CP: those implemented manually (by children and parents) [13,14] and those facilitated by technologies that incorporated games to incentivize engagement [35][36][37][38][39]. We used these inputs in conjunction with items from the PYTHEIA [31] to develop a schedule (see supplemental materials) to probe the user experience of seven families who had just completed a month-long, home pilot of PedBotHome, [16,18,19,24] an A/R gamebot prototype designed to promote ankle stretching and strengthening therapeutic exercise.…”

“…[13,14] The challenge optimal intervention presents, both in terms of clinic scheduling and travel time on the part of the child and family/caregiver, could be lessened through leverage of a home-based robotic platform that delivers stretching and strengthening exercises in proper form, at frequency and intensity most appropriate to the child with CP. The positive effect [15,16] of robot-mediated ankle maneuvers on gait therapeutic targets has been demonstrated, as has the feasibility of the transfer of the technology from lab to clinic [17] and home. [18][19][20] Delivering physical therapy interventions to children with CP in a game-play context (i.e.…”

PedBotHome: A Video Game–Based Robotic Ankle Device Created for Home Exercise in Children With Neurological Impairments

“…PedBotHome (Figures 1A and 1B) is a robotic platform with a video gaming interface designed to allow children to complete ankle exercises at home in a fun engaging way. It is modeled after PedBotLab, a more robust and expensive device designed for the clinic setting, currently undergoing efficacy studies 12. The home-based platform addresses HEP adherence limitations noted in the literature such as the ability to use specialized equipment in the home, remote monitoring by a health care professional, and incorporation of favored hobbies, such as video gaming 8,9.…”