Call1 Monitoring Maat

Public Summary Month 18

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:32:03 GMT

- Design and development of a bio-cooperative controller:

Two different interaction control laws were developed.
The immersive virtual reality system was completed, with adjustable level of task difficulty.
The module for the online modulation of the interaction control and the immersive virtual reality system was implemented.

- Hardware and software integration: Two MAAT prototypes were assembled (at UCBM and UMH, respectively) and preliminary experimental tests were carried out.

- Experimental validation is being carried out on healthy subjects. Also preliminary validation tests on post-stroke subjects are being carried out.

- Dissemination activities have been promoted by means of publications.

Public Summary Month 16/2012 (March 2012)

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:50:58 GMT

- Delivery of the documents for the Ethical Committee approval.

- In order to update robot behaviour according to the patient state, two main control strategies have been evaluated by the partners.

- Integration and synchronization of the equipment for the simultaneous acquisition of the monitoring systems and the online processing of the collected data.

- A meeting will take place in April at UMH, in order to verify the correct functioning mode of each subsystem of the multimodal interface and integrate them.

- Dissemination activities have been promoted by means of the publications.

Public Summary Month 14/2012 (January)

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:47:41 GMT

The activities carried out during the last months are summarized as follows:

- Validation tests execution of the final version of the method for reconstructing the upper limb kinematics.

- Adaptation of fuzzy logic rules to therapies assisted by a 7 dof robotic device based on PRL modules

- More experiments have been carried out to validate the multimodal robot-assisted rehabilitation system.

- Reliability and stability trials for testing the impedance control embedded on KUKA Light Weight Robot

- A 3D model of the upper extremity has been included in the virtual reality software.

- A plenary meeting of MAAT team will take place from 6^th to 10^th February.

Public Summary Month 12/2011

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:02:26 GMT

The activities carried out during the last months are summarized as follows:
-   Validation tests of two methods for upper limb kinematics reconstruction are being carried out.
-   Adaptive algorithms for intelligent machine learning are the basis for our multimodal rehabilitation system that automatically adapts the delivered therapy to the specific needs and demands of the patient.
-   Multimodal feedback modalities (visual, acoustic, haptic and vibrotactile feedback) has been implemented in the multimodal robot-assisted rehabilitation system.
-   UCBM is currently implementing on LWR the submovement-based control approach.
-   A virtual reality software has been developed with adjustable level of task difficulty that can be adjusted as a function of the evolution of the subject.
-   A plenary meeting of MAAT team is being planned for January 2012.

Public Summary Month 9/2011

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:05:12 GMT

The activities carried out during the last month are summarized as follows:

- Finalization and validation tests planning of the upper limb kinematics reconstruction algorithm.

- Testing algorithms to analyze physiological state using the information provided by the measurement of human bio-signals during the execution of virtual activities of daily living (ADL) assisted by a robotic device.

- Finalization and validation of the vibrotactile stimulation system.

- Implementation of the submovement-based control strategy on the MIT-Manus robot at UCBM.

- Implementation of autoadaptive and immersive virtual reality system.

Public Summary Month 8/2011

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:08:54 GMT

The scientific activities carried out during the last two months (M7-M8) can be summarized as follows:

Identification and implementation of the technique, suitable for MAAT project purposes, able to reconstruct human arm kinematics. It relies on the joint use of 2 magneto-inertial sensors located on the patient arm and position sensors embedded in the robot (Fig. 1).
The system for monitoring the patient physiological state has been completed. It relies on sensors able to measure pulse, galvanic skin response, respiration and skin temperature (Fig. 2). The monitoring system has been tested on ten volunteer healthy subjects.
Implementation in a simulated environment of a new control system grounded on a submovement-based trajectory planner that allows adapting robot accuracy and interaction force in unstructured environment (Fig. 3). A comparison with a traditional PD torque control has also been carried out.
The effect of vibrotactile stimulation will be evaluated. We are defining the experimental protocol.
In order to deliver motor tasks of daily living activities during the robotic therapy and motivate the patient, a virtual realty environment has been developed (Fig. 4). The system adapts the performance according to residual ability of the patient.

Fig.1. - Arm kinematic reconstruction set-up: the subject performs the exercise with MIT-Manus system; the magneto-inertialsensors placed on upper arm and hand measure radial acceleration and orientation respectively.

Fig.2. - Physical/coordination task (top); Cognitive task (middle); Physical/coordination + Cognitive task (bottom)

Fig.3. - Block scheme of the control based on submovement composition

Fig.4. - The Virtual Reality environment reproducing activities of daily living

Public Summary Month 6/2011

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:21:00 GMT

The activities carried out during the last two months (M5-M6) can be summarized as follows:

- Evaluation of different techniques to reconstruct human arm kinematics. Identification of the most suitable for MAAT purposes.

- Definition of a setup for patient physiological state analysis. Planning of tests to evaluate its performances.

- Evaluation of a vibrotactile stimulation system to increase patient motivation.

- Definition of a new controller grounded on a submovement-based trajectory planner that allows adapting the interaction force to the patient residual abilities and a PD torque control.

- Progress on the development of the immersive virtual reality system.

- Publications in international journals and conferences can be found in the public web site of the MAAT project (http://hal.umh.es/maat/Publications.html). Dissemination activities have been promoted also by means of the organization of one workshop and one journal special issue.

Public Summary Month 4/2011

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:55:32 GMT

Main activities carried out during the first 3 months of the MAAT project (http://hal.umh.es/maat) are summarized in the following:

Identification of the equipment for monitoring patient behavioral and physiological state
Development of data processing techniques for analyzing patient kinematic and dynamic parameters (Zollo et al, 2010), (Zollo et al, 2011).
Preliminary activities on the development of the adaptive interaction control system for the rehabilitation robot, based on nonlinear oscillators (Salerno et al., 2011).
Development of the rehabilitation robot based on Schunk PRL modules
Development of an immersive virtual reality system that will be dynamically modified according to the patient’s physiological reactions to the given robotic therapy (Morales et al, 2010).

Public Summary Month 2/2011

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:29:43 GMT

The MAAT project aims at developing a new robotic system for the administration of highly sophisticated therapy to stroke patients able to (i) maximise patient motivation and involvement in the therapy and (ii) continuously assess the progress of the recovery from the functional and neurological viewpoint, with special attention to the issue of safety in human-robot interaction. The main novelty of the MAAT approach is to close patient in the loop and use multi-sensory data (such as motion, forces, voice, muscle activity, heart rate, skin conductance etc.) to adaptively and dynamically change complexity of the therapy and real-time displays of an immersive virtual reality system in accordance with specific patient requirements.

During the first three months of the project, the following activities have been carried out by UCBM and UMH:

1- Coordination and Management

Activities of coordination and management have been carried out since project beginning. They also include ethical issues management because of the project purpose of monitoring subjects behavioral and physiological data. To this regard subject information sheet and informed consent have been prepared.

2- Scientific activities

2.1- In order to indentify the equipment for monitoring patient behavioral and physiological state, a state of the art on this topic has been carried out.

2.2- Data processing techniques for analyzing patient kinematic and dynamic parameters have been carried out exploiting MIT-Manus robot and 2 magneto-inertial sensors (XSense MTx), available at UCBM, placed on upper limb. Preliminary experimental results can be found in (Zollo et al, 2010), (Zollo et al, 2011).

2.3- The activities described in Sub-Tasks 2.4 and 2.5 started correctly at month two. The analysis of the state-of-the-art in the evaluation of patient’s intention and physiological state has been reported. Based on the information analyzed about evaluation of patient’s intention and physiological state, a ser of target devices has been identified like: ECG electrodes, Electrodermal response (GSR), Respiration, Blood pressure, Skin temperature, Pulse, EMG sensors. Patients using a rehabilitation robot might need additional extrinsic feedback to stay informed about limb position, collision, contact with items in virtual environments, etc. Vibration, temperature and skin-stretch stimulation are intuitive ways to provide extrinsic feedback related to limb position and collisions/contact

2.4- In the framework of Sub-Task 3.1 UCBM started working on the interaction control system for the LWR that was planned to be purchased from KUKA Roboter Italia at the beginning of MAAT experiment. Due to the delay in the first ECHORD payment, activities on this issue are being carried out through the exchange of information and technical manual with the robot manufacturer. In this framework, UMH is finishing the development of the rehabilitation robot based on Schunk PRL modules. In parallel, it is developing the libraries for low level control of the robot and a simulation environment to test the control algorithms.

2.5- The main goal of the Sub-Task 3.2 is the development of an immersive virtual reality system that will be dynamically modified according to the patient’s physiological reactions to the given robotic therapy in order to maximize the patient’s motivation and the therapy outcomes. The stimulation systems described in Sub-Task 2.5 is being integrated with the virtual reality (VR) system developed in this task in order to stimulate the patient in a similar way that a therapist would do it (Morales et al, 2010).

2.6- Finally a public web site of the experiment (http://hal.umh.es/maat) has been developed at the beginning of the project.

References

(Zollo et al, 2010) Zollo L, Gallotta E, Guglielmelli E, Sterzi S. Robotic technologies and rehabilitation: new tools for upper-limb therapy and assessment in chronic stroke. European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine. 2010, in press.

(Morales et al, 2010) Morales, R.; Badesa, F.J.; Domenech, L.M.; Garcia-Aracil, N.; Sabater, J.M.; Menchón, M.; Fernandez, E.; Design and control of a rehabilitation robot driven by pneumatic swivel modules Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), 2010 3rd IEEE RAS and EMBS International Conference on, 26-29 Sept. 2010

(Zollo et al, 2011) Zollo L, Accoto D, Sterzi S, Guglielmelli E. Rehabilitation Robotics, Therapeutic Robotics. Springer Handbook of Medical Technology, K. Rüdiger, K.-P. Hoffmann, R.S. Pozos, (Eds.), Chap. 44, 2011 (ISBN: 978-3-540-74657-7).