Assessment of a robotic exoskeleton for upper limb rehabilitation in people with Spinal Cord Injury

Led by the University of Liverpool and involving patients at the Spinal Injury units in Sheffield, Glasgow and Oswestry

With limited or no hand function, people with tetraplegia can become completely reliant on family and carers for their most basic needs. Research shows, however, that robotic rehabilitation can promote the reorganisation of circuitries in the brain and thus augment upper limb functionality.

This two-year study will test the only portable and commercially available robotic device (‘exoskeleton’) for the first time on people with incomplete tetraplegia. It has already been used successfully for arm rehabilitation by people with stroke and brachial plexus injuries who had reached a plateau with traditional rehabilitation. The team will assess the advantages and limitations of this device using two groups of patients – an intervention group (that will undergo rehabilitation using the exoskeleton in addition to the traditional rehabilitation programme) and a control group that will receive traditional rehabilitation only. If the team finds that this portable device improves upper limb mobility, it will offer patients the opportunity to self-manage at home and ease the burden of SCI.