Prof. Xiaoling HU’s research on “Sensorimotor Integration by Targeted Priming in Muscles with Electromyography-Driven Electro-vibro-feedback in Robot-Assisted Wrist/Hand Rehabilitation after Stroke"
Research paper titled “Sensorimotor Integration by Targeted Priming in Muscles with Electromyography-Driven Electro-vibro-feedback in Robot-Assisted Wrist/Hand Rehabilitation after Stroke”, with Professor Xiaoling HU as the corresponding author, was recently published in Cyborg and Bionic Systems, an open access journal, published in association with BIT, that promotes the knowledge interchange and hybrid system codesign between living beings and robotic systems.
“Sensorimotor Integration by Targeted Priming in Muscles with Electromyography-Driven Electro-vibro-feedback in Robot-Assisted Wrist/Hand Rehabilitation after Stroke”
Legeng Lin, Yanhuan Huang, Wanyi Qing, Man-Ting Kuet, Hengtian Zhao, Fuqiang Ye, Wei Rong, Waiming Li, and Xiaoling Hu*
Cyborg and Bionic Systems. Vol 7. Article ID: 0507. doi: 10.34133/cbsystems.050
Abstract
Restoring precise muscular control in the poststroke wrist/hand (W/H) demands sensorimotor integration to correct compensatory neuroplasticity. However, current rehabilitation robots inadequately modulate ascending somatosensory pathways from specific muscles. This study developed an electromyography (EMG)-driven soft robot with electro-vibro-feedback (EVF-robot) for targeted somatosensory priming in W/H muscles. This system integrates (a) focal vibratory stimulation and neuromuscular electrical stimulation for recruiting the somatosensory pathways of the targeted W/H flexors and extensors; (b) an EMG-driven control algorithm for strengthening the voluntary motor control of a driving muscle; and (c) robot assistance to achieve coordinated joint extension and flexion. In a single-arm trial with 20 sessions, 15 chronic stroke participants assisted by the system achieved significant improvements in voluntary W/H behavioral control, somatosensory feedback, and intermuscular coordination in the paretic upper limb (P < 0.05). During their W/H extension, the cortical peaks of corticomuscular coherence shifted contralaterally for W/H extensors, and the ascending corticomuscular coherence from W/H flexors increased (P < 0.05). These improvements persisted at the 3-month follow-up. The findings provide preliminary evidence that sensorimotor integration training with the EMG-driven EVF-robot may modulate compensatory neuroplasticity and facilitate improvements in coordinated motor control of the distal joints in individuals with chronic stroke.
