• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.5878-5904
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• 2017

This paper proposes a novel intelligent wheelchair vehicle system that enables upper limb exercises, lower limb standing exercises and rehabilitation training in a daily life. The proposed system, which can be used to prevent at least the degeneration of body movements and further atrophy of musculoskeletal system functions, considers the characteristics and mobility of the old and the disabled. Its main purpose is to help the old and the disabled perform their daily activities as much as they can, minimizing the extent of secondary disabilities. In other words, the system will provide the old and the disabled with regular and quantitative rehabilitation exercises and diagnosis using the wheelchair-based upper/lower limb rehabilitation vehicle system and then verify their effectiveness. The system comprises an electric wheelchair, a biometric module to identify individual characteristics, and an upper/lower limb rehabilitation vehicle. In this paper the design and configuration of the developed vehicle is described, and its operation method is presented. Moreover, to verify the tracking performance of the proposed system, dangerous situations according to biosignal changes occurring during the rehabilitation exercise of a non-disabled examinee are analyzed and the performance of the upper/lower limb rehabilitation exercise function depending on muscle strength is evaluated through a neural network algorithm.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.315-322
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• 2009

This paper explains a control and navigation algorithm of a 6-DOF gait rehabilitation robot, which can allow a patient to navigate in virtual reality (VR) by upper and lower limbs interactions. In gait rehabilitation robots, one of the important concerns is not only to follow the robot motions passively, but also to allow the patient to walk by his/her intention. Thus, this robot allows automatic walking velocity update by estimating interaction torques between the human and the upper limb device, and synchronizing the upper limb device to the lower limb device. In addition, the upper limb device acts as a user-friendly input device for navigating in virtual reality. By pushing the switches located at the right and left handles of the upper limb device, a patient is able to do turning motions during navigation in virtual reality. Through experimental results of a healthy subject, we showed that rehabilitation training can be more effectively combined to virtual environments with upper and lower limb connections. The suggested navigation scheme for gait rehabilitation robot will allow various and effective rehabilitation training modes.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 2011

In this paper, we proposed a design of upper-limb rehabilitation device with power-assist function for stroke survivals. The designed upper-limb rehabilitation device has three degrees of freedom； it is possible to perform flexion and extension motions of wrist, index finger and the other fingers except the thumb independently. The power-assist for wrist motion is performed by a pneumatic double-acting cylinder, but the fingers are actuated by electrical linear actuators to assist motions. A prototype upper-limb rehabilitation device and its controller were implemented. The position controller showed 0.8 mm errors in the steady-state. Experimental results showed that the proposed upper-limb rehabilitation device with power-assist function is feasible.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.20-31
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• 2021

This study aimed to pilot test a newly developed bilateral upper limb rehabilitation training program for improving the upper limb function of individuals with chronic stroke using a visual feedback method. The double-group pretest-posttest design pilot study included 10 individuals with chronic stroke (age >50 years). The intervention (four weekly meetings) consisted of five upper limb training protocols (wrist extension; forearm supination and pronation; elbow extension and shoulder flexion; weight-bearing shift; and shoulder, elbow, and wrist complex movements). Upper limb movement function recovery was assessed with the FuglMeyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity, the Wolf Motor Function Test, the Trunk Control Test, the modified Ashworth Scale, and the visual analog scale at baseline, immediately after, and four weeks after the intervention. The Fatigue Severity Scale was also employed. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity and Wolf Motor Function Test showed significant improvement in upper limb motor function. The Trunk Control Test results increased slightly, and the modified Ashworth Scale decreased slightly, without statistical significance. The visual analog scale scores showed a significant decrease and the Fatigue Severity Scale scores were moderate or low. The bilateral upper limb training program using the visual feedback method could result in slight upper limb function improvements in individuals with chronic stroke.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.111-118
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• 2012

Purpose : The purpose of present study was to determine effects of action observation training on upper limb function after stroke. Training was progressed to imitation and intensive training after observation to required action in ADL. Methods : Among the single case study was used to ABA design. pre base line(A) was only collected participant information without intervention in 5 times. action observation intervention(B) was carried out 10 times and 5 times to base lime(A) after intervention. Results : Results indicated that 10-second test, box and block test, manual function test was increased when compared action observation intervention(B) to pre base line(A). Conclusion : To stroke action observation training was evaluated gross manipulation, dexterity and upper limb function in related with ADL. action observation training benefits were maintained after intervention(B) and showed improvement on upper limb function of stroke.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.672-678
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• 2008

This paper proposes a new rehabilitation robot with upper and lower limb connections for gait training. As humans change a walking speed, their nervous systems adapt muscle activation patterns to modify arm swing for the appropriate frequency. By analyzing this property, we can find a relation between arm swinging and lower limb motions. Thus, the lower limb motion can be controlled by the arm swing for walking speed adaptation according to a patent's intension. This paper deals with the design aspects of the suggested gait rehabilitation robot, including a trajectory planning and a control strategy. The suggested robot is mainly composed of upper limb and lower limb devices, a body support system. The lower limb device consists of a slider device and two 2-dof footpads to allow walking training at uneven and various terrains. The upper limb device consists of an arm swing handle and switches to use as a user input device for walking. The body support system will partially support a patient's weight to allow the upper limb motions. Finally, we showed simulation results for the designed trajectory and controller using a dynamic simulation tool.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.723-728
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• 2003

The physical restoration technology for lower limb amputees is being advanced as the biomechatronics is being applied to the area of rehabilitation. As the advanced prosthetics for lower limb amputees are introduced, a suitable prescription of biomechanical rehabilitation training becomes important to utilize the advanced full features of the devices. Since lower limb amputation significantly affects biomechanical balance of mosculoskeletal system for gait, an appropriate and optimal biomechanical training and exercise should be provided to rebalance the system before wearing the prostheses. Particularly, biomechanical muscular training for hip movements in the both affected and sound lower limbs is important to achieve a normal-like ambulation. However, there is no study to understand the effect of hip muscle strength on the gait performance of lower limb amputees. To understand the hip muscle strength characteristics for normal and amputated subjects, the isokinetic exercises for various ratios of concentric contraction to eccentric contraction were performed for hip flexion-extension and adduction-abduction. As a results. biomechanical isokinetic training protocols and performance measurement methodologies for lower limb amputees were developed in this study. Using the protocols and measurement methods, it has been understood that the appropriate and optimal biomechanical prescription for the rehabilitation process for lower limb amputees is important for restoring their gait ability

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 2019

Purpose: To investigate the effect of an augmented reality (AR) system on muscle strength and function level of the paretic lower limb and the balance ability in the early rehabilitation program of acute stroke patients. Methods: The participants (30 or fewer days after stroke) were randomly assigned to receive intervention with an early rehabilitation program using an AR system (n=1) or an early rehabilitation program consisting of functional electrical stimulation and tilt table use (n=1). Patients in both subjects received interventions 4-5 times a week for 3 weeks. Results: In the paretic limb muscle strength, AR subject was increased from 15 to 39.6 Nm and Control subject was increased from 5 to 30.2 Nm. The paretic limb function of AR subject motor function was increased from 8 to 28 score and Control subject motor function was increased from 6 to 14 score. But sensory function was very little difference between the two subjects (AR subject: from 4 to 10 score, Control subject: from 3 to 10 score). In the balance ability, AR subject had more difference after intervention than control subject (AR subject: 33 score, Control subject: 22 score). Conclusion: The early rehabilitation program using the AR system showed a slightly higher improvement in the motor function of the paretic lower limb and balance ability measurement than the general early rehabilitation program. The AR system, which can provide more active, task-oriented, and motivational environment, may provide a meaningful environment for the initial rehabilitation process after stroke.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.271-279
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• 2019

Background: We utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to evaluate the cerebral white matter changes that are associated with phantom limb pain in patients with unilateral arm amputation. It was anticipated that this would complement previous research in which we had shown that changes in cerebral blood volume were associated with the cerebral pain network. Methods: Ten patients with phantom limb pain due to unilateral arm amputation and sixteen healthy age-matched controls were enrolled. The intensity of phantom limb pain was measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS) and depressive mood was assessed by the Hamilton depression rating scale. Diffusion tensor-derived parameters, including fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD), were computed from the DTI. Results: Compared with controls, the cases had alterations in the cerebral white matter as a consequence of phantom limb pain, manifesting a higher AD of white matter in both hemispheres symmetrically after adjusting for individual depressive moods. In addition, there were associations between the RD of white matter and VAS scores primarily in the hemispheres related to the missing hand and in the corpus callosum. Conclusions: The phantom limb pain after unilateral arm amputation induced plasticity in the white matter. We conclude that loss of white matter integrity, particularly in the hemisphere connected with the missing hand, is significantly correlated with phantom limb pain.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lower limb training using a sliding rehabilitation machine on the foot motion and stability in stroke patients. Methods: Thirty participants were allocated to two groups: Training group (n=15) and Control group (n=15). Subjects in the control group received physical therapy for 30 minutes, five times per week, and those in the training group received lower limb training using a sliding rehabilitation machine for 30 minutes, five times per week, with physical therapy for 30 minutes, five times per week, during a period of six weeks. Heel rotation, hallux stiffness, foot balance, metatarsal load, toe out angle, and subtalar joint flexibility were measured by RS-scan. Results: Significant improvement of the foot motion (hallux stiffness, meta load) and the foot stability (toe out angle, subtalar joint flexibility) was observed in the training group. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that lower limb training using a sliding rehabilitation machine is an effective intervention to improve the foot motion and stability.