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Abstract
Background: A great number of stroke patients pursue rehabilitation services in multiple domains (e.g., speech, physical, occupational). Although multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to stroke rehabilitation are considered desirable, it is largely unknown how the intervention in one domain affects the progress in others.
Aims: The current study investigated the interaction between speech therapy and physical therapy. Additionally, the feasibility of utilising a humanoid robot in stroke rehabilitation was described.
Methods & Procedures: A 72-year-old male chronically challenged by aphasia and hemiparesis completed speech and physical therapy tasks in the sole condition (Speech Only, Physical Only) and in the sequential condition (Speech & Physical). The therapy activities were delivered by a humanoid robot.
Outcomes & Results: Greater gains in speech and physical functions were obtained during the sole condition than in the sequential condition, suggesting a competitive interaction between speech and physical therapies.
Conclusions: The cross-domain competition can be accounted for by fatigue, participant characteristics, and task characteristics. Objective data on speech and physical functions and subjective data on perceived quality of life indicate positive outcomes in this single case. These findings warrant further research on the feasibility and utility of humanoid robots in stroke rehabilitation.
Acknowledgments
The authors are very grateful to Dr Robert Marshall and two anonymous reviewers for their exceptional suggestions. This work was supported by Faculty Research Grant and Faculty Research Enhancement Award (School of Public Health and Health Sciences) from University of Massachusetts Amherst and by National Clinical Research Program of American Heart Association. Hee-Tae Jung (second author) acknowledges Robin Popplestone Fellowship and Jeong Song Culture Foundation Scholarship. Special gratitude is expressed to Melissa Massery, Megan V. Cronin, Jennifer Russell, and members of the Laboratory for Perceptual Robotics for their assistance during this study.
Notes
1This is not the participant's actual name.
2The number of trials was automatically logged by the custom-built software that operated the uBot-5's behaviours. At the same time a researcher manually tallied the number as a backup.