Modeling and verification of a bimanual-coordinated training system

Recently, much attention has been paid to the development of robots that support bilateral arm training in various patterns. However, traditional bimanual rehabilitation robots usually realized different training modes with the robot providing a corresponding force for the impaired limb or else achieved an active-assisted mode with the healthy limb providing an assisted force for the impaired one. This paper proposes a robot to support bimanual-coordinated training. Different training modes are realized with one limb providing a corresponding force for the other limb. Two upper limbs accomplish symmetric movements in each training mode. Motion tracking training in active-resisted and active-assisted modes was performed on 11 healthy subjects. After bimanual-coordinated training, position tracking precision was significantly improved. The preliminarily results confirmed the feasibility of the system for supporting healthy subjects in performing bimanual-coordinated training tasks and demonstrated the effectiveness of the system in improving bimanual-coordinated performance of healthy subjects. Such a system could be potentially useful for patients who are in need of motor function rehabilitation after incidents such as stroke.