Abstract
Recently, robotic-assisted stroke rehabilitation became an important research topic due to its capability to provide complex solutions to perform the customized rehabilitation motion with enhanced resources than the traditional rehabilitation. Involving robotic devices in the rehabilitation process would increase the number of possible rehabilitated patients, but placing the patient inside the workspace of the robot causes a series of risks that needs to be identified, analyzed and avoided. The goal of this work is to provide a reliable solution for an upper limb rehabilitation robotic structure designed as a result of a risk assessment process. The proposed approach implies a hazard identification process in terms of severity and probability, a failure mode and effects analysis to identify the possible malfunctions in the system and an AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) to prioritize the technical characteristics of the robotic structure. The results of the risk assessment process and of the AHP provide the base of the final design of the robotic structure, while another solution, in terms of minimizing the risk for the patient injury, is obtained using an external measuring system.
Highlights
Stroke is the second cause of death and one of the leading causes of disability worldwide [1]
This paper proposes a risk assessment process based method to identify the possible harmful situations for the patient that may occur during the rehabilitation process
The above proposed solution was used to obtain the safe characteristics of the ASPIRE robotic system used in the upper limb rehabilitation of the post-stroke survivors
Summary
Stroke is the second cause of death and one of the leading causes of disability worldwide [1]. The current definition of stroke was introduced in 1970 by World Health Organization, and it implies clinical signs of local or global disturbance of cerebral functions, lasting over 24 hours or concluding with the death of the patient caused by a vascular malfunction [2]. Bronum-Hansen et al [4] and John Hopkins Medicine [5] show a stroke survival rate of 81.9% among male patients aged between 25 and 69 years and 77.4% among female patents of same age interval. The survival rate is lower when the patient is older both in male and female patients. The recovery process spreads usually on a long period of time that can last up to two years after the initial stroke
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