Our research focuses on developing a robotic device that can deliver precise, patient-tailored exercise therapy to stroke and spinal cord injury survivors. We have developed a dual-use platform for sensorimotor diagnostics and for the therapy of wrist/hand function.
The team has conducted over 125 customer discovery interviews through National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program to understand the challenges faced by the physical rehabilitation industry in the United States. The knowledge gained from this experience has informed and structured the R&D efforts to align the technology based on the therapists’ and patients’ needs. We are currently developing a platform for delivering gamified rehabilitation exercises in an effort to enhance patient engagement during therapy.
Team members: Dr. Naveen Elangovan is leading the efforts to commercialize this robotic technology and to make it accessible to the patient population in rehabilitation hospitals. Dr. Jürgen Konczak is the University of Minnesota PI for the project. Dr. Lorenzo Masia from Heidelberg University in Germany is the lead inventor of the WristBot and he is actively involved in the continued R&D of the technology. In 2022, Dr. Elangovan pitched the startup idea at the Walleye Tank competition and won the competition under the Juniors category.
Related Publications:
Yeh IL., Holst-Wolf J., Elangovan N., Cuppone AV., Lakshminarayan K., Capello L., Masia L., Konczak J. (2021). Effects of a robot-aided somatosensory training on proprioception and motor function in stroke survivors. Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation. May 10;18(1):77. doi: 10.1186/s12984-021-00871-x. PMID: 33971912; PMCID: PMC8112068.
Elangovan N, Tuite PJ, Konczak J. (2018). Somatosensory Training Improves Proprioception and Untrained Motor Function in Parkinson’s Disease. Frontiers in Neurology. 2018 Dec 10;9:1053. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2018.01053.
Zhu H, Wang Y, Elangovan N, Cappello L, Sandini G, Masia L, Konczak J (2022) A robot‑aided visuomotor wrist training induces motor and proprioceptive learning that transfers to the untrained ipsilateral elbow. Research Square, October 18th, 2022.