Characterization of Upper Limb Impairments at Body Function, Activity, and Participation in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis by Behavioral and EMG Assessment: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating and disabling disease which primarily affects individuals in their early life between 20 and 40 years of age. MS is a complex condition, which may lead to a variety of upper limb (UL) dysfunctions and functional deficits. To explore upper limb impairments at body function, activity, and participation in persons with MS (PwMS) and severe hand dexterity impairment by behavioral and surface electromyography (sEMG) assessments.

Effectiveness of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Training on Spasticity, Function and Muscle Activity in Chronic Stroke Patients Treated With Botulinum Toxin: A Randomized Single-Blinded Controlled Trial.

The combined use of Robot-assisted UL training and Botulinum toxin (BoNT) appear to be a promising therapeutic synergism to improve UL function in chronic stroke patients. To evaluate the effects of Robot-assisted UL training on UL spasticity, function, muscle strength and the electromyographic UL muscles activity in chronic stroke patients treated with Botulinum toxin. This single-blind, randomized, controlled trial involved 32 chronic stroke outpatients with UL spastic hemiparesis.

Effects of High-intensity Robot-assisted Hand Training on Upper Limb Recovery and Muscle Activity in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized, Controlled, Single-Blinded Trial.

Integration of robotics and upper limb rehabilitation in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) has rarely been investigated. To compare the effects of robot-assisted hand training against non-robotic hand training on upper limb activity in PwMS. To compare the training effects on hand dexterity, muscle activity, and upper limb dysfunction as measured with the International Classification of Functioning.

Reliability of the Italian version of the International Spinal Cord Injury Pain Basic Data Set.

Study Design: Multicentric prospective psychometric study.

Objective: To provide a translation of the International Spinal Cord Injury Pain Basic Data Set (ISCIPBDS) for Italian persons and to evaluate the interrater reliability of the translated version.

Setting: Ten Italian rehabilitation centres specialized in spinal injury care.

Upper limb robot-assisted therapy in subacute and chronic stroke patients using an innovative end-effector haptic device: A pilot study.

Background: Significant results have been shown when an upper limb robot-assisted rehabilitation is delivered to stroke patients.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of upper limb robot-assisted rehabilitation on motor recovery in stroke patients who underwent a treatment based on a haptic device.

Methods: Thirty-nine stroke patients (twenty-three subacute and sixteen chronic) underwent rehabilitation training by using MOTORE/Armotion haptic system.

Combining Upper Limb Robotic Rehabilitation with Other Therapeutic Approaches after Stroke: Current Status, Rationale, and Challenges.

A better understanding of the neural substrates that underlie motor recovery after stroke has led to the development of innovative rehabilitation strategies and tools that incorporate key elements of motor skill relearning, that is, intensive motor training involving goal-oriented repeated movements. Robotic devices for the upper limb are increasingly used in rehabilitation. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of these devices in reducing motor impairments, but less so for the improvement of upper limb function.

An integrated gait rehabilitation training based on Functional Electrical Stimulation cycling and overground robotic exoskeleton in complete spinal cord injury patients: Preliminary results.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of an integrated gait rehabilitation training based on Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)-cycling and overground robotic exoskeleton in a group of seven complete spinal cord injury patients on spasticity and patient-robot interaction. They underwent a robot-assisted rehabilitation training based on two phases: n=20 sessions of FES-cycling followed by n= 20 sessions of robot-assisted gait training based on an overground robotic exoskeleton. The following clinical outcome measures were used: Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) on spasticity, Penn Spasm Frequency Scale (PSFS), Spinal Cord Independence Measure Scale (SCIM), NRS on pain and International Spinal Cord Injury Pain Data Set (ISCI).

Robot-assisted end-effector-based gait training in chronic stroke patients: A multicentric uncontrolled observational retrospective clinical study.

Background: Until now studies report inconclusive results as regards the effectiveness of exclusive use of robot-assisted training and clinical indications in stroke patients.

Objective: To evaluate if the only robot-assisted end-effector-based gait training can be feasible in chronic stroke subjects in terms of gait recovery.

Methods: Five rehabilitation centers participated and one hundred chronic post-stroke patients were recruited.

Electrical and mechanical characterisation of single wall carbon nanotubes based composites for tissue engineering applications.

This paper presents the realisation of conductive matrices for application to tissue engineering research. We used poly(L-lactide (PLLA)), poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL), and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) as polymer matrix, because they are biocompatible and biodegradable. The conductive property was integrated to them by adding single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) into the polymer matrix.