Rehabilitation support robot for self-standing-up training of hemiplegic stroke patients: Guiding control method using two passive robots

The objective of the study involves developing a rehabilitation support robot for self-standing-up training of hemiplegic stroke patients to restore normal standing-up motion. Therapist-guided standing-up training is effective in improving the motor function of a patient's paralyzed leg. The therapist controls a patient's left/right load balance by pulling or pushing the patient's waist during standing-up training. Hence, we investigated the relationship between the patient's waist movement and the left/right load balance during guided standing-up motion. The analysis results revealed the ideal pattern of the load balance ratio during guided standing-up training. In addition, the results indicate that the patient's waist movement corresponded to the ideal pattern of the load balance ratio. It is expected that this movement trajectory is useful in designing a controller of a rehabilitation support robot. In order to reproduce the therapist-guided standing-up training with a rehabilitation support robot, it is necessary to consider a control method that can be installed on the robot.