Clinical outcomes in post-stroke rehabilitation using upper-limb exoskeletons: review of latest reports. (Exoskeletons in post-stroke rehabilitation)

Background: Stroke is one of the main source of chronic disability in adults and affects motor dysfunction including paresis of upper limb. Currently, the use of new technologies is becoming more and more widespread and supports the effects of physical rehabilitation. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) is widely used gold standard in assessing motor functions of the upper limbs in stroke patients. Aim of the study: The purpose of this review is to present the results of upper limb rehabilitation using an exoskeleton on patients' motor functions based on FMA-UE.Material and methods: All relevant publications were retrieved from the PubMed, with key words such as “exoskeleton stroke” (PubMed – 212 results), “upper limb exoskeleton” (PubMed – 221 results), “stroke rehabilitation physiotherapy” (PubMed – 1191 results), and 35 papers were selected. Results: The results of research conducted on patients in subacute and chronic phase of stroke using various models of upper limb exoskeletons are introduced. We described the constructed exoskeletons and presented clinical outcomes after therapy using FMA-UE.Conclusions: Our analysis shows that rehabilitation of the upper limb using robotic exoskeletons significantly improves the movement of the proximal joints of the upper limb in post-stroke patients, regardless of the recovery phase.