Introduction: Robot assisted therapy is a promising form of therapy providing improvement of motor control in upper limb and activities of daily living for people living with stroke due to its repetitive, intensive and motivating intervention. Purpose: The goal of this thesis was to evaluate the effectiveness of using Armeo Spring for the improvement of upper limb functions in post-stroke patient. We have monitored range of motion in impaired upper limb, upper limb motor function, the amount of upper limb use in everyday activities and patients' perception of performance and satisfaction with occupations that were meaningful to him. Methods: Participant was a 69-year-old male, who suffered right-sided hemiparesis and was 5 months post stroke at the beginning of the intervention. Patient has performed activities on Armeo Spring exoskeleton for six weeks. The intervention frequency was twice a week for 45 minutes. The therapeutic plan consisted of eight activities that were aiming to improve range of motion in upper limb, coordination of upper limb movements and grip function. We intensified the intervention by increasing the level of difficulty in activities and reducing the arm weight support. The following assessments were conducted at baseline and post-intervention: Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Functional Independence Measure, Wolf Motor Function Test, Motor Activity Log, and goniometry of shoulder, elbow and wrist. Results: Improvement occurred in patients' perception of performance and satisfaction with occupations that were meaningful to him (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure: performance from 2,25 to 4,5; satisfaction from 3 to 5), upper limb motor function (Wolf Motor Function Test: from 4,63s to 3,35s), the amount of upper limb use in everyday activities (Motor Activity Log: amount from 1,05 to 1,55), range of motion in impaired upper limb and grip strength (dynamometer: from 5kg to 8kg). Discussion and conclusion: On the basis of obtained results we can conclude that six weeks robot therapy intervention with Armeo Spring device could be an appropriate form of therapy for upper limb in clinical setting for patients in chronic phase of stroke with similar cognitive and motor skills to the patient that was included in study.
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