Lum 2002 - Robot-assisted movement training compared with conventional therapy techniques for the rehabilitation of upper-limb motor function after stroke
“Greater strength gains in the robot group could have been due to the active-constrained mode, which is a form of maximal-effort resistance exercise. These strength gains could have been the basis for the robot group's greater improvements in reach extent and Fugl-Meyer scores after 2 months of treatment,” (Lum, P. S., Burgar, C. G., Shor, P. C., Majmundar, M., & Van der Loos, M. 2002). Robotic training is allowing patients to achieve higher outcomes throughout therapy sessions and increase shorter stays within the post-acute hospital stays. The use of robotics, like Burt®, enables lower-impact training that utilizes a high repetitive component and allows for patients to increase strength and ROM throughout their exercises. The alternative would be to use higher impact exercises such as dumbbells or theraband in the beginning stage of rehabilitatoin. Burt® is multi-faceted because it can perform PROM, AAROM, and give resistance during the functional movements and training activities.