Feasibility of an Adaptive Upper Limb Robotic Training Protocol for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis

Lately, the use of robotic devices for tailored rehabilitation as well as strategies for assessing and monitoring sensorimotor function has garnered considerable interest. This work presents an innovative upper limb robotic training protocol for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS), who can benefit from this type of rehabilitation by improving motor control and muscular strength and, consequently, quality of life. Participants took part in the study three times a week for a period that lasted six weeks on average. The task proposed for the robot-based training was tracking with a resistive force along the directions of wrist flexion-extension and radial-ulnar deviation. The effects of the training were investigated through robotic assessments and strength measurements conducted both before and after the intervention on both the trained and untrained limbs of participants. Results of the robotic assessments showed greater impairment in wrist position sense in the group of PwMS compared with a group of non-MS controls. However, there was a significant improvement from pre- to post-training in the tracing skills in both the MS and non-MS groups. Strength measurements showed significant improvement from pre- to post-intervention in both groups for both the trained and untrained limbs. This type of robotic training protocol shows promise for improving upper limb motor control and muscular strength in PwMS.