siliconindia | | December 20188EXOSKELETON ROBOTICS IN STROKE REHABILITATIONBy Raymond TONG Kai-Yu, Chairman - Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong KongHeadquartered in Shatin, CUHK is one of the top Hong Kong University with strong research emphasis offering courses in Undergraduate Studies, Postgraduate Studies, Sub-degree & Continuing Education, Exchange Programs, and Summer Programs.Background of Stroke RehabilitationThe high prevalence of stroke puts growing pressure on the global healthcare system. Every year more than 15 million people have a stroke accident. The mortality rate of stroke decreased in the past two decades - thanks to the technological advancement in medicine, but the ab-solute number of stroke survivors increased 84 percent, with a 33 million global stroke count in 2010. In 2017, India had a stroke incidence rate of up to 152 in every 100,000 persons per year, double the fi gures from a few decades ago. Every three out of four-stroke cases occur in people aged 65 years or older. A higher burden of stroke is expected in the future because of population ageing. The disability rate tends to be high among the elderly because of the high morbidity rate caused by cerebrovas-cular disorders ­ stroke, arthropathy, dementia and other senile diseases.Long-term disability is a major burden for stroke sur-vivors. About 90 percent of stroke survivors will have different levels of muscle weakness and spasticity on one side of the body. These motor impairments have signifi -cant impact on their activity in daily living (ADL). On discharge from hospital, more than 60 percent of sub-acute stroke patients still cannot walk independently, whereas 20 percent remain non-ambulatory, and about 85 percent have impaired motor function in hands and arms. Many stroke survivors are dependent on caregiv-ers ­ short-handed with heavy workloads ­ to provide manual assistance in self-care and mobility. Healthcare professionals are looking for advanced technologies to facilitate stroke rehabilitation.The Added Value of Exoskeleton RobotsExoskeleton robots are wearable devices that can be equipped in parallel to the user's limb to augment hu-man performance, or to amplify residual joint movement of the impaired limb using powered actuators. These robots can be used to facilitate ADL of stroke patients as assistive devices, as well as therapeutic devices being used in combination with conventional physiotherapy. in my opinionRaymond TONG Kai-Yu
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