Lower Limb Rehabilitation Robots: A Review

Abstract

It is generally accepted that early treatment is an effective way in improving body’s function of the stroke patients. This paper reviews the background of the rehabilitation theory and some typical products of lower limb rehabilitation robots. Lower limb rehabilitation robots have been drawn into rehabilitation training. Researchers have done large amounts of rehabilitation training experiments based on these rehabilitation robots. This paper reviews some representative articles. Abundant clinical trials show that robot-assisted rehabilitation therapy is more effective than conventional therapy in Functional Ambulatory Capacity (FAC), walking speed, step length, etc. However, there are few lower limb rehabilitation robots directing at patients in early stage (the first 3 months after illness) in the domestic and international markets. Therefore, lower limb rehabilitation robot for acute and subacute stroke patients is a promising research area in the future.