Robotic ‘coaches’ which help aid upper limb rehabilitation for stroke and brain injury survivors have been successfully trialled in Vienna, Austria as part of an international pilot study led by researchers from the UK’s National Robotarium.

The VITALISE project, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme and led by the National Robotarium’s Human Robot Interaction (HRI) team, has developed a system in which socially assistive robots communicate with a patient using a headset that detects the brain’s neural activity.

Developed in partnership with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, the robot then processes these signals to understand the user’s movement intention when carrying out exercises, thereby being able to provide real-time verbal motivation, visual mimicry, and feedback, as they complete specific movements.

It is hoped that the research will make it easier and more engaging for people to adhere to their prescribed self-managed rehabilitation routines by providing personalised support based on their individual needs, cognitive capability, and exercise pace.

Around 80% of acute stroke and brain injury survivors have an upper limb impairment, limiting the movement of the arm. This impairment, which can often be long-term, has the potential to significantly affect an individual’s standard of independent living and daily activities.

Improving functions after cognitive injuries requires task-specific repetitive exercise, however 60% of stroke survivors may often suffer from forgetfulness and only 31% complete their prescribed rehabilitation routines. It is thought that lack of motivation and immediate obvious progress indicators can contribute to this low exercise uptake.

Over the three-month study, the VITALISE team worked with 16 stroke and brain injury survivors and six therapists to test the robot-assisted rehabilitation system’s ability to understand user intention and provide personalised motivation.

Specifically, the team explored whether a robot could detect a person’s intended exercise movement using brain signal data and then mimic that motion in real-time to demonstrate an exercise.

Through questionnaires and interviews, researchers gathered important feedback on factors like the robot’s success at motivating exercise over time, building user trust, and overall ease of use. This evaluation methodology has enabled researchers to thoroughly investigate the potential for socially assistive robots with neural interfaces to provide tailored support for self-managed rehabilitation.

The National Robotarium is part of the Data-Driven Innovation initiative, supported by £21 million from the UK Government and £1.4 million from the Scottish Government. The initiative aims to turn Edinburgh into the data capital of Europe and is part of the wider £1.5 billion Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal.

Lynne Baillie is a professor of Computer Science at Heriot-Watt University and academic lead at the National Robotarium for human-robot interaction, assistive living and health. She said: “We know that sustained, repetitive exercises are crucial for recovery after a stroke or brain injury.

“However, without supervision it can be challenging for survivors to stay motivated. We envision a future where patients have access to personalised robotic coaches that support clinicians and experts to deliver even more successful rehabilitation journeys.

“Our research shows the incredible potential for these technologies to understand users’ needs and empower them to achieve recovery goals.

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“At the National Robotarium, our ambition is to develop automated technologies that assist and empower people, including those managing health conditions, to remain independent in their homes for longer.

“This successful pilot represents an important milestone toward that vision, demonstrating how we can thoughtfully design robotics to deliver better health outcomes for vulnerable groups like stroke and brain injury survivors.”

The pilot study was funded under the European Union’s Horizon2020 Research and Innovation Programme as part of the larger VITALISE project for advancing rehabilitation infrastructure.