Mark Ferraro

Bio: Mark Ferraro is an academic researcher from Burke Rehabilitation Hospital. The author has contributed to research in topics: Rehabilitation robotics & Rehabilitation. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 10 publications receiving 1569 citations.

Rehabilitation Robotics: Performance-Based Progressive Robot-Assisted Therapy

Abstract: In this paper we describe the novel concept of performance-based progressive robot therapy that uses speed, time, or EMG thresholds to initiate robot assistance. We pioneered the clinical application of robot-assisted therapy focusing on stroke—the largest cause of disability in the US. We have completed several clinical studies involving well over 200 stroke patients. Research to date has shown that repetitive task-specific, goal-directed, robot-assisted therapy is effective in reducing motor impairments in the affected arm after stroke. One research goal is to determine the optimal therapy tailored to each stroke patient that will maximize his/her recovery. A proposed method to achieve this goal is a novel performance-based impedance control algorithm, which is triggered via speed, time, or EMG. While it is too early to determine the effectiveness of the algorithm, therapists have already noted one very strong benefit, a significant reduction in arm tone.

Rehabilitation robotics: pilot trial of a spatial extension for MIT-Manus

Abstract: Background Previous results with the planar robot MIT-MANUS demonstrated positive benefits in trials with over 250 stroke patients. Consistent with motor learning, the positive effects did not generalize to other muscle groups or limb segments. Therefore we are designing a new class of robots to exercise other muscle groups or limb segments. This paper presents basic engineering aspects of a novel robotic module that extends our approach to anti-gravity movements out of the horizontal plane and a pilot study with 10 outpatients. Patients were trained during the initial six-weeks with the planar module (i.e., performance-based training limited to horizontal movements with gravity compensation). This training was followed by six-weeks of robotic therapy that focused on performing vertical arm movements against gravity. The 12-week protocol includes three one-hour robot therapy sessions per week (total 36 robot treatment sessions).

Continuous passive motion improves shoulder joint integrity following stroke

Abstract: Objective: In a pilot study of patients with a first stroke and hemiparesis, we sought to determine whether treatment of the upper limb with continuous passive motion (CPM) that was device delivered would alter impairment, disability or the associated adverse symptoms of shoulder joint instability, pain and tone.Design: Patients were randomly assigned to receive daily CPM treatments or participate in self-range of motion groups under the supervision of an occupational therapist. All patients received standard daily poststroke therapy for 3.5 h per day. A blinded evaluator at admission and discharge assessed patients using standardized scales of impairment, disability and adverse symptoms.Setting: Specialized stroke unit of an acute rehabilitation hospital.Subjects: Two hundred and eighty consecutive patients were screened and 35 of these with a first unilateral stroke, 139-6 days following the acute event, provided informed consent and were randomly assigned to CPM treatment or supervised group self-range...

Assessing the Motor Status Score: A Scale for the Evaluation of Upper Limb Motor Outcomes in Patients after Stroke:

Abstract: The Motor Status Scale (MSS) measures shoulder, elbow (maximum score = 40), wrist, hand, and finger movements (maximum score = 42), and expands the measurement of upper extremity impairment and disability provided by the Fugl-Meyer (FM) score. This work examines the interrater reliability and criterion validity of the MSS performed in patients admitted to a rehabilitation hospital 21 +/- 4 days after stroke. Using the MSS and the FM, 7 occupational therapists masked to each other's judgments, evaluated 12 consecutive patients with stroke. Two therapists evaluated 6 additional patients on consecutive days. Intraclass correlation coefficients were significant for each group of raters for the shoulder/elbow and for the wrist/band (P < 0.0001); test-retest measures were also significant for the shoulder/elbow (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.99, P < 0.004) and for the wrist/hand (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.99, P < 0.003). The internal item consistency for the overall MSS was significant (Cronbach alpha = 0.98, P < 0.0001). Finally the correlation between the MSS and the FM (R2 = 0.964) was significant (P < 0.0001). The MSS affords a reliable and valid assessment of upper limb impairment and disability following stroke.

Robotics and other devices in the treatment of patients recovering from stroke.

Abstract: Stroke is the leading cause of permanent disability in the United States despite advances in prevention and novel interventional treatments. Randomized controlled studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of specialized post-stroke rehabilitation units, but administrative orders have severely limited the length of stay, so novel approaches to the treatment of recovery need to be tested in outpatients. Although the mechanisms of stroke recovery depend on multiple factors, a number of techniques that concentrate on enhanced exercise of the paralyzed limb have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the motor impairment. For example, interactive robotic devices are new tools for therapists to deliver enhanced sensorimotor training for the paralyzed upper limb, which can potentially improve patient outcome and increase their productivity. New data support the idea that for some post-stroke patients and for some aspects of training-induced recovery, timing of the training may be less important than the quality and intensity of the training. The positive outcome that resulted in the interactive robotic trials contrasts with the failure to find a beneficial result in trials that used a noninteractive device that delivered continuous passive motion only. New pilot data from novel devices to move the wrist demonstrate benefit and suggest that successive improvement of the function of the arm progressing to the distal muscles may eventually lead to significant disability reduction. These data from robotic trials continue to contribute to the emerging scientific basis of neuro-rehabilitation.

Effects of Robot-Assisted Therapy on Upper Limb Recovery After Stroke: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Objective. The aim of the study was to present a systematic review of studies that investigate the effects of robot-assisted therapy on motor and functional recovery in patients with stroke. Method...

Review of control strategies for robotic movement training after neurologic injury

Abstract: There is increasing interest in using robotic devices to assist in movement training following neurologic injuries such as stroke and spinal cord injury. This paper reviews control strategies for robotic therapy devices. Several categories of strategies have been proposed, including, assistive, challenge-based, haptic simulation, and coaching. The greatest amount of work has been done on developing assistive strategies, and thus the majority of this review summarizes techniques for implementing assistive strategies, including impedance-, counterbalance-, and EMG- based controllers, as well as adaptive controllers that modify control parameters based on ongoing participant performance. Clinical evidence regarding the relative effectiveness of different types of robotic therapy controllers is limited, but there is initial evidence that some control strategies are more effective than others. It is also now apparent there may be mechanisms by which some robotic control approaches might actually decrease the recovery possible with comparable, non-robotic forms of training. In future research, there is a need for head-to-head comparison of control algorithms in randomized, controlled clinical trials, and for improved models of human motor recovery to provide a more rational framework for designing robotic therapy control strategies.

Augmented visual, auditory, haptic, and multimodal feedback in motor learning: A review

Abstract: It is generally accepted that augmented feedback, provided by a human expert or a technical display, effectively enhances motor learning. However, discussion of the way to most effectively provide augmented feedback has been controversial. Related studies have focused primarily on simple or artificial tasks enhanced by visual feedback. Recently, technical advances have made it possible also to investigate more complex, realistic motor tasks and to implement not only visual, but also auditory, haptic, or multimodal augmented feedback. The aim of this review is to address the potential of augmented unimodal and multimodal feedback in the framework of motor learning theories. The review addresses the reasons for the different impacts of feedback strategies within or between the visual, auditory, and haptic modalities and the challenges that need to be overcome to provide appropriate feedback in these modalities, either in isolation or in combination. Accordingly, the design criteria for successful visual, auditory, haptic, and multimodal feedback are elaborated.

Systematic review of the effect of robot-aided therapy on recovery of the hemiparetic arm after stroke.

Abstract: Spinal orthoses are common in the treatment of various conditions that affect the spine. They encompass both the spine and pelvis and thus have implications for pelvic and lower-limb motion during walking in addition to a direct effect on spinal motion. The role of the spine in walking is largely ill-defined, and the consequences of restricted spinal motion on walking have yet to be explored. This study investigated the effect of spinal restriction on gait in able-bodied persons. Gait analyses were performed on 10 able-bodied subjects as they walked at five different speeds that were distributed across their comfortable range of speeds. Data were collected during walking with and without spinal restriction by a fiberglass body jacket, which is similar to a thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO). With spinal restriction, peak-to-peak (PP) pelvic obliquity and rotation were significantly reduced across all walking speeds (p < 0.001), while PP pelvic tilt was significantly reduced at only the fastest walking speeds (p = 0.017). PP hip abduction-adduction motion was significantly reduced with spinal restriction across all speeds (p < 0.001), while PP hip flexion-extension significantly increased at only the slow and very slow speeds (p < 0.001 and p = 0.023, respectively). A better understanding of the effects of restricted spinal motion on gait may help clinicians predict and avoid development of additional problems from TLSO use or surgical restriction of spinal motion. An awareness of these issues will enable clinicians to monitor patients for problems that may result from decreased spine and pelvic motion.

What is the evidence for physical therapy poststroke? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract: Background Physical therapy (PT) is one of the key disciplines in interdisciplinary stroke rehabilitation. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an update of the evidence for stroke rehabilitation interventions in the domain of PT.