This book reports on the latest technological and clinical advances in the field of neurorehabilitation. It is, however, much more than a conventional survey of the state-of-the-art in neurorehabilitation technologies and therapies. It was written on the basis of a week of lively discussions between PhD students and leading research experts during the Summer School on Neurorehabilitation (SSNR2014), held September 15-19 in Baiona, Spain. Its unconventional format makes it a perfect guide for all PhD students, researchers and professionals interested in gaining a multidisciplinary perspective on current and future neurorehabilitation scenarios. The book addresses various aspects of neurorehabilitation research and practice, including a selection of common impairments affecting CNS function, such as stroke and spinal cord injury, as well as cutting-edge rehabilitation and diagnostics technologies, including robotics, neuroprosthetics, brain-machine interfaces and neuromodulation.

This book reports on the latest technological and clinical advances in the field of neurorehabilitation. It is, however, much more than a conventional survey of the state-of-the-art in neurorehabilitation technologies and therapies. It was formed on the basis of a week of lively discussions between curious PhD students and leading research experts during the summer school on neurorehabilitation (SSNR2012), September 16-21 in Nuévalos, Zaragoza (Spain). Its unconventional format makes it a perfect guide for all PhD students, researchers and professionals interested in gaining a multidisciplinary perspective on current and future neurorehabilitation scenarios. The book covers various aspects of neurorehabilitation research and practice, organized into different parts. The first part discusses a selection of common impairments affecting brain function, such as stroke, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s disease; the second deals with both spinal cord and brain plasticity. The third part covers the most recent rehabilitation and diagnostics technologies, including robotics, neuroprostheses, brain-machine interfaces and electromyography systems. Practical examples and case studies related to the application of some of the latest techniques in realistic clinical scenarios are covered in the fourth part.

The book reports on advanced topics in the areas of neurorehabilitation research and practice. It focuses on new methods for interfacing the human nervous system with electronic and mechatronic systems to restore or compensate impaired neural functions. Importantly, the book merges different perspectives, such as the clinical, neurophysiological, and bioengineering ones, to promote, feed and encourage collaborations between clinicians, neuroscientists and engineers. Based on the 2016 International Conference on Neurorehabilitation (ICNR 2016) held on October 18-21, 2016, in Segovia, Spain, this book covers various aspects of neurorehabilitation research and practice, including new insights into biomechanics, brain physiology, neuroplasticity, and brain damages and diseases, as well as innovative methods and technologies for studying and/or recovering brain function, from data mining to interface technologies and neuroprosthetics. In this way, it offers a concise, yet comprehensive reference guide to neurosurgeons, rehabilitation physicians, neurologists, and bioengineers. Moreover, by highlighting current challenges in understanding brain diseases as well as in the available technologies and their implementation, the book is also expected to foster new collaborations between the different groups, thus stimulating new ideas and research directions.

The book reports on advanced topics in the areas of neurorehabilitation research and practice. It focuses on new methods for interfacing the human nervous system with electronic and mechatronic systems to restore or compensate impaired neural functions. Importantly, the book merges different perspectives, such as the clinical, neurophysiological, and bioengineering ones, to promote, feed and encourage collaborations between clinicians, neuroscientists and engineers. Based on the 2018 International Conference on Neurorehabilitation (ICNR 2018) held on October 16-20, 2018, in Pisa, Italy,, this book covers various aspects of neurorehabilitation research and practice, including new insights into biomechanics, brain physiology, neuroplasticity, and brain damages and diseases, as well as innovative methods and technologies for studying and/or recovering brain function, from data mining to interface technologies and neuroprosthetics. In this way, it offers a concise, yet comprehensive reference guide to neurosurgeons, rehabilitation physicians, neurologists, and bioengineers. Moreover, by highlighting current challenges in understanding brain diseases as well as in the available technologies and their implementation, the book is also expected to foster new collaborations between the different groups, thus stimulating new ideas and research directions.

This book addresses cutting-edge topics in robotics and related technologies for rehabilitation, covering basic concepts and providing the reader with the information they need to solve various practical problems. Intended as a reference guide to the application of robotics in rehabilitation, it covers e.g. musculoskeletal modelling, gait analysis, biomechanics, robotics modelling and simulation, sensors, wearable devices, and the Internet of Medical Things.

The 2-volume set LNCS 10324 and 10325 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Computer Graphics, AVR 2017, held in Ugento, Italy, in June 2017. The 54 full papers and 24 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 112 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: virtual reality; augmented and mixed reality; computer graphics; human-computer interaction; applications of VR/AR in medicine; and applications of VR/AR in cultural heritage.

This thesis presents a novel neuro-fuzzy modeling approach for grasp neuroprostheses. At first, it offers a detailed study of discomfort due to the application of Functional Electrical Stimulation to the upper limb. Then, it discusses briefly previous methods to model hand movements induced by FES with the purpose of introducing the new modeling approach based on intelligent systems. This approach is thoroughly described in the book, together with the proposed application to induce hand and finger movements by means of a surface FES system based on multi-field electrodes. The validation tests, carried out on both healthy and neurologically impaired subjects, demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed modeling method. All in all, the book proposes an innovative system based on fuzzy neural networks that is expected to improve the design and validation of advanced control systems for non-invasive grasp neuroprostheses.

Rehabilitation Robotics gives an introduction and overview of all areas of rehabilitation robotics, perfect for anyone new to the field. It also summarizes available robot technologies and their application to different pathologies for skilled researchers and clinicians. The editors have been involved in the development and application of robotic devices for neurorehabilitation for more than 15 years. This experience using several commercial devices for robotic rehabilitation has enabled them to develop the know-how and expertise necessary to guide those seeking comprehensive understanding of this topic. Each chapter is written by an expert in the respective field, pulling in perspectives from both engineers and clinicians to present a multi-disciplinary view. The book targets the implementation of efficient robot strategies to facilitate the re-acquisition of motor skills. This technology incorporates the outcomes of behavioral studies on motor learning and its neural correlates into the design, implementation and validation of robot agents that behave as 'optimal' trainers, efficiently exploiting the structure and plasticity of the human sensorimotor systems. In this context, human-robot interaction plays a paramount role, at both the physical and cognitive level, toward achieving a symbiotic interaction where the human body and the robot can benefit from each other's dynamics. - Provides a comprehensive review of recent developments in the area of rehabilitation robotics - Includes information on both therapeutic and assistive robots - Focuses on the state-of-the-art and representative advancements in the design, control, analysis, implementation and validation of rehabilitation robotic systems