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Major ZZ, Vaida C, Major KA, Tucan P, Brusturean E, Gherman B, Birlescu I, Craciunaș R, Ulinici I, Simori G, Banica A, Pop N, Burz A, Carbone G, Pisla D. Comparative Assessment of Robotic versus Classical Physical Therapy Using Muscle Strength and Ranges of Motion Testing in Neurological Diseases. J Pers Med 2021; 11:jpm11100953. [PMID: 34683094 PMCID: PMC8541455 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11100953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of robotic systems in physical rehabilitation protocols has become increasingly attractive and has been given more focus in the last decade as a result of the high prevalence of motor deficits in the population, which is linked to an overburdened healthcare system. In accordance with current trends, three robotic devices have been designed, called ParReEx Elbow, ParReEx Wrist, and ASPIRE, which were designed to improve upper-limb medical recovery (shoulder, elbow, forearm, and wrist). The three automated systems were tested in a hospital setting with 23 patients (12 men and 11 women) suffering from motor deficits caused by various neurological diseases such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The patients were divided into three groups based on their pathology (vascular, extrapyramidal, and neuromuscular). Objective clinical measures, such as the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale, goniometry, and dynamometry, were used to compare pre- and post-rehabilitation assessments for both robotic-aided and manual physical rehabilitation therapy. The results of these tests showed that, with the exception of a few minor differences in muscular strength recovery, the robotic-assisted rehabilitation methods performed equally as well as the manual techniques, though only minor improvements were validated during short-term rehabilitation. The greatest achievements were obtained in the goniometric analysis where some rehabilitation amplitudes increased by over 40% in the vascular group, but the same analysis returned regressions in the neuromuscular group. The MRC scale analysis returned no significant differences, with most regressions occurring in the neuromuscular group. The dynamometric analysis mostly returned improvements, but the highest value evolution was 19.07%, which also in the vascular group. While the results were encouraging, more research is needed with a larger sample size and a longer study period in order to provide more information regarding the efficacy of both rehabilitation methods in neurological illnesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoltán Zsigmond Major
- Neurophysiology Department, National Center for Spinal Disorders, Királyhágó u. 1, 1126 Budapest, Hungary;
- Neurology Department, Municipal Clinical Hospital Cluj-Napoca, 400139 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (E.B.); (R.C.); (G.S.)
| | - Calin Vaida
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
- Correspondence: (C.V.); (D.P.)
| | - Kinga Andrea Major
- Second ICU, Neurosurgery Department, Cluj County Emergency Clinical Hospital, Strada Clinicilor 3-5, 400000 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Paul Tucan
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
| | - Emanuela Brusturean
- Neurology Department, Municipal Clinical Hospital Cluj-Napoca, 400139 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (E.B.); (R.C.); (G.S.)
| | - Bogdan Gherman
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
| | - Iosif Birlescu
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
| | - Raul Craciunaș
- Neurology Department, Municipal Clinical Hospital Cluj-Napoca, 400139 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (E.B.); (R.C.); (G.S.)
| | - Ionut Ulinici
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
| | - Gábor Simori
- Neurology Department, Municipal Clinical Hospital Cluj-Napoca, 400139 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (E.B.); (R.C.); (G.S.)
| | - Alexandru Banica
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
| | - Nicoleta Pop
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
| | - Alin Burz
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
| | - Giuseppe Carbone
- DIMEG, University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, 87036 Rende, Italy;
| | - Doina Pisla
- Research Center for Industrial Robots Simulation and Testing, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (P.T.); (B.G.); (I.B.); (I.U.); (A.B.); (N.P.); (A.B.)
- Correspondence: (C.V.); (D.P.)
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