A longitudinal study published on medRxiv reveals that a community-based, affordable robotic system—RehabCARES—successfully delivered personalized motor and cognitive training to adults living with chronic stroke.
The trial, conducted with six participants, demonstrated that integrating reconfigurable robotics with interactive gaming maintains high patient engagement and usability in non-clinical settings.
- The RehabCARES system uses a reconfigurable, one-degree-of-freedom robot to allow for personalized, repetitive motor tasks that can be adjusted based on biometric feedback.
- Participants reported high levels of enjoyment and a consistent sense of control, with self-reported frustration levels decreasing over the course of 12 therapy sessions.
- The system’s design prioritizes accessibility, allowing for complex motor and cognitive training within a community setting rather than a specialized hospital environment.
Current stroke rehabilitation strategies often focus exclusively on motor recovery, yet clinical evidence confirms that cognitive impairment frequently co-occurs with motor deficits. The RehabCARES system addresses this gap by utilizing a reconfigurable robot, known as THEAbot, paired with eight distinct games that demand both physical movement and cognitive processing.
According to the study, the system incorporates a haptic and biometric controller to perform dynamic difficulty adjustment, ensuring the challenge level remains appropriate for the user’s current functional status.
The participants in the study, who presented with varying degrees of impairment—measured by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FM-UE) scores between 20 and 61 and MoCA scores between 22 and 28—completed 12 sessions.
Researchers found that while user experience was heterogeneous, the system achieved high usability scores, peaking at 86 out of 100 by the final visit. “RehabCARES provided personalized motor/cognitive training to a heterogeneous cohort in a community-based setting, delivering a positive user experience,” the authors said in their findings.
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the system, the research team monitored several key indicators of patient comfort and workload. The data indicates that perceived physical exertion remained light to moderate, and self-reported pain levels stayed low throughout the duration of the 12-visit protocol.
| Metric | Outcome Observation |
|---|---|
| Usability Score | Peaked at 86 +/- 4.5 (out of 100) |
| Perceived Exertion | Maintained at light to moderate levels |
| Patient Affect | Strong and stable enjoyment reported |
| Workload | Decreasing frustration and effort over time |
The research was conducted under a protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Pennsylvania (Protocol no. 853607), with coordination from Trinity Health. Financial support for the project was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
The study authors disclosed a potential competing interest, noting that Michelle Johnson, Rochelle Mendonca, and Alwyn Johnson are co-founders of Recupero Robotics LLC, which may have a financial interest in the results.
The current data, registered under the identifier NCT05542121, provides a foundation for scaling affordable robotic solutions in community health settings.
