Error Augmented Robotic Rehabilitation of the Upper Limb - A Review

Abstract

Objective: To collect and assess the available evidence for the efficacy of error augmentation in upper limb robotic rehabilitation. Methods: A systematic literature search up to May 2013 was conducted in one citation index, the Web of Knowledge, and in two individual databases: PubMed and Scopus, for publications that utilized error augmented feedback as practice modality in robotic rehabilitation of the upper limb. Results: The systematic search returned 12 studies that utilized error augmented feedback in trials to unimpaired and impaired individuals suffering from stroke, multiple sclerosis and primary dystonia. One additional study utilizing viscous force fields was included as the authors paid special merit to the effects of the field in directions where the error was amplified. In the studies that met the inclusion criteria two different types of error augmented feedback was used that is, haptic and visual feedback which were used either separately as rehabilitation modalities or in conjunction with each other. All studies but one report positive outcome regardless of the type(s) of feedback utilized. Conclusions: Error augmentation in upper limb robotic rehabilitation is a relatively new area of study, counting almost nine years after the first relevant publication and rather understudied. Error augmentation in upper limb robotic rehabilitation should be further researched in more practice-intensive studies and with larger trial groups. The potential of error augmented upper limb rehabilitation should also be explored with conditions other than the ones described in this review.