Communications of the ACM
Robot-Delivered Speech and Physical Therapy a Success in Umass Amherst Test
A humanoid robot has been used to provide speech and physical therapy for a stroke patient, resulting in noticeable improvement in quality of life.
Credit: University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst researchers have used a humanoid robot to deliver speech and physical therapy to a stroke patient, and recorded noticeable speech and physical therapy gains and improvement in quality of life.
"It’s clear from our study of a 72-year-old male stroke client that a personal humanoid robot can help people recover by delivering therapy such as word-retrieval games and arm movement tasks in an enjoyable and engaging way," says UMass Amherst researcher Yu-kyong Choe.
The study aimed to measure how interventions in speech therapy affected interventions in physical therapy. Over the course of the experiment, the patient made "notable gains in the frequency and range of the upper-limb movements, as well as positive gains in verbal expression," according to the researchers. They also found that the patient's improvements in speech and physical function were much greater when he participated in only one therapy than when the two therapies were paired in sessions immediately following one another.
"In addition to improving quality of life, if we can support a client in the home so they can delay institutionalization, we can improve outcomes and make a huge impact on the cost of elder care," says UMass Amherst researcher Rod Grupen.
From University of Massachusetts Amherst
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