Robotics in physical medicine and neurorehabilitation

Abstract

Introduction. Robots have been used for rehabilitation purposes since the 1960s. The aim of this paper is to present the application of robotics in physical medicine and rehabilitation with special reference to robotic devices used in rehabilitation. Material and Methods. The paper uses literature related to the application of robotics in medicine and rehabilitation. The literature review was conducted using the following databases: Serbian Library Consortium for Coordinated Acquisition, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System, Google Scholar, Science Citation Index, and portal of Croatian scientific journals ?Hrcak?. Development of robotics in rehabilitation. Nowadays, there are a great number of different robotic systems for rehabilitation. Robotics in rehabilitation is of utter importance because it works on the principle of neuroplasticity. Robots for lower limb rehabilitation. These robotic systems are most often in the form of exoskeletons. Robots for upper limb rehabilitation. Upper limb rehabilitation robots are therapeutic devices that help or provide support for arm or hand movements. Robot for upper body rehabilitation. Robot ?Tymo?. Conclusion. By using robots in physical medicine and neurorehabilitation, a faster and more complete functional recovery of the patient can be achieved.