Wristbot: A Novel Device for the Assessment of Proprioceptive Deficits After Stroke

The proposed technology comprises a hardware device with four motors that can apply torques to the human wrist about its three degrees of freedom (i.e. axes of rotation: wrist flexion/extension,abduction/adduction and forearm pronation/supination). This allows for guided and controlled movements of the wrist by delivering assistive, resistive, perturbation or no forces (patient actively moves the wrist). It contains a set of specialized software modules that a) allow for the objective, psychophysical assessment of sensory dysfunction in patients, and b) provide specialized training modules designed to improve sensory and motor functions of the wrist.