Applied Sciences (Dec 2021)
Electromechanical and Robotic Devices for Gait and Balance Rehabilitation of Children with Neurological Disability: A Systematic Review
- Nicola Valè,
- Marialuisa Gandolfi,
- Laura Vignoli,
- Anita Botticelli,
- Federico Posteraro,
- Giovanni Morone,
- Antonella Dell’Orco,
- Eleonora Dimitrova,
- Elisa Gervasoni,
- Michela Goffredo,
- Jacopo Zenzeri,
- Arianna Antonini,
- Carla Daniele,
- Paolo Benanti,
- Paolo Boldrini,
- Donatella Bonaiuti,
- Enrico Castelli,
- Francesco Draicchio,
- Vincenzo Falabella,
- Silvia Galeri,
- Francesca Gimigliano,
- Mauro Grigioni,
- Stefano Mazzon,
- Franco Molteni,
- Maurizio Petrarca,
- Alessandro Picelli,
- Michele Senatore,
- Giuseppe Turchetti,
- Eugenio Guglielmelli,
- Nicola Petrone,
- Loris Pignolo,
- Giulia Sgubin,
- Nicola Smania,
- Loredana Zollo,
- Stefano Mazzoleni,
- Italian Consensus Conference on Robotic in Neurorehabilitation CICERONE
Affiliations
- Nicola Valè
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Marialuisa Gandolfi
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Laura Vignoli
- ANFFAS Rehabilitation Center, 63013 Grottammare, Italy
- Anita Botticelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Federico Posteraro
- Rehabilitation Department Versilia Hospital, ASL Toscana Nord-Ovest, 55049 Lucca, Italy
- Giovanni Morone
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Antonella Dell’Orco
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Eleonora Dimitrova
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Elisa Gervasoni
- IRRCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 20148 Milan, Italy
- Michela Goffredo
- Neurorehabilitation Research Laboratory, Department of Neurological and Rehabilitation Sciences, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, 00163 Rome, Italy
- Jacopo Zenzeri
- Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16163 Genova, Italy
- Arianna Antonini
- AITO Umbria Coordinator, AITO (Italian Association of Occupational Therapists), 00136 Roma, Italy
- Carla Daniele
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Paolo Benanti
- Faculty of Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University, 00187 Rome, Italy
- Paolo Boldrini
- Italian Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (SIMFER), 00198 Rome, Italy
- Donatella Bonaiuti
- Geriatric Institute Piero Redaelli, 20090 Milan, Italy
- Enrico Castelli
- Pediatric Neurorehabilitation, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, 00165 Rome, Italy
- Francesco Draicchio
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, INAIL, 00078 Rome, Italy
- Vincenzo Falabella
- President Italian Federation of Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries (Faip Onlus), 00195 Rome, Italy
- Silvia Galeri
- IRRCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, 20148 Milan, Italy
- Francesca Gimigliano
- Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy
- Mauro Grigioni
- National Center for Innovative Technologies in Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Stefano Mazzon
- ULSS 6 (Unique Sanitary Local Company) Euganea Padova-Distretto 4 “Alta Padovana”, 35012 Padova, Italy
- Franco Molteni
- Villa Beretta, Costa Masnaga, 23845 Como, Italy
- Maurizio Petrarca
- The Movement Analysis and Robotics Laboratory, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, 00165 Rome, Italy
- Alessandro Picelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Michele Senatore
- AITO (Italian Association of Occupational Therapists), 00136 Roma, Italy
- Giuseppe Turchetti
- Institute of Management, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Eugenio Guglielmelli
- Advanced Robotic and Human-Centered Technologies—CREO Lab, Campus Biomedico University, 00128 Rome, Italy
- Nicola Petrone
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy
- Loris Pignolo
- Sant’Anna Institute, 88900 Crotone, Italy
- Giulia Sgubin
- Italian Association of Physical Therapists (AIFI), 00182 Rome, Italy
- Nicola Smania
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
- Loredana Zollo
- Advanced Robotic and Human-Centered Technologies—CREO Lab, Campus Biomedico University, 00128 Rome, Italy
- Stefano Mazzoleni
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, 70125 Politecnico di Bari, Italy
- Italian Consensus Conference on Robotic in Neurorehabilitation CICERONE
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/app112412061
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11,
no. 24
p. 12061
Abstract
In the last two decades, a growing interest has been focused on gait and balance robot-assisted rehabilitation in children with neurological disabilities. Robotic devices allow the implementation of intensive, task-specific training fostering functional recovery and neuroplasticity phenomena. However, limited attention has been paid to the protocols used in this research framework. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of the existing literature on robotic systems for the rehabilitation of gait and balance in children with neurological disabilities and their rehabilitation applications. The literature search was carried out independently and synchronously by three authors on the following databases: MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PeDro, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. The data collected included three subsections referring to clinical, technical, and regulatory aspects. Thirty-one articles out of 81 found on the primary literature search were included in the systematic review. Most studies involved children with cerebral palsy. Only one-third of the studies were randomized controlled trials. Overall, 17 devices (nine end-effector systems and eight exoskeletons) were investigated, among which only 4 (24%) were bore the CE mark. Studies differ on rehabilitation protocols duration, intensity, and outcome measures. Future research should improve both rehabilitation protocols’ and devices’ descriptions.
Keywords
