Abstract

People with long term conditions that are the biggest users of the NHS have been called a ticking time bomb, and there is a strong drive from the Department of Health to radically re-design services based on self care, telehealth and telecare technology. Stroke patients account for a significant portion of this group and currently very little technology is commercially available for them to use away from hospital.

Over the last 5 years Dr Freeman and colleagues at the University of Southampton have pioneered the use of advanced control strategies to increase the effectiveness and scope of novel stroke rehabilitation technologies involving electrical stimulation and robotics. The team has shown these technologies have significant clinical effectiveness and, with further sets of clinical trials planned in 2012 added to those already completed, the stage in which they can be transferred into patients’ own homes is rapidly approaching. This seminar provides an overview of current research into electrical stimulation and robotics, and discusses open control, identification, sensing and motor learning problems that must be solved to maximise its effectiveness and allow it to reach the end user.