Robot-assisted Gait Training for Patients With Stroke

Stroke is the leading cause of permanent disability in most developed countries world wide with one-third of the surviving patients from stroke fail to regain independent walking ability. Robot-assisted gait rehabilitation that is able to deliver high intensity and consistent repeatability in a safe and controlled environment are gaining traction and advocators for its inclusion as part of the routine post-stroke rehabilitation program. However, despite the recent technological advances in the development and design of better robotics, the exact benefit of the robot-assisted therapy over traditional rehabilitation remain sparse and unclear. It is therefore the aim of the proposed project to fulfil this important gap in our clinical knowledge by comparatively investigate the clinical feasibility and efficacy of a recently developed HIWIN Robotic Gait Training System (MRG-P100) against the traditional rehabilitation program with an emphasis on the determination of functional recovery and the appropriate gait adaptation of such robotic system for stroke survivors.