Telerehabilitation for people with knee mobility injuries.

Abstract

Nowadays, telerehabilitation is a feasible alternative to traditional rehabilitation services. In this context, we present a bilateral tele-rehabilitation system for people with knee injuries, through the execution of remote rehabilitation routines. The rehabilitation prototype is designed in CAD/CAE software; given its complexity, the finite element method is used to detect possible failures due to the dimensioning and the safety factor. The system control scheme is based on autonomous control algorithms and bilateral teleoperation theory. At the local station, the physiotherapist generates rehabilitation routines using the Novint Falcon haptic device and a computer; the information sent to the remote station is received and the patient interacts with the prototype by executing the programmed flexion and extension movements. In addition, the physiotherapist receives visual, auditory and force feedback from the remote site for better system transparency. Finally, the experimental results show the performance of the proposed system. Usability tests are also conducted with different users in an experimental environment.