Medical Robotics. Vol. 2. Innovative Parallel Robots for Medical Rehabilitation

This book represents the second volume of the “Medical Robotics” series.

Medical Robotics is a challenging field that has evolved continuously in the last decades in parallel with the evolution technology. Neurological disorders have been recognized as some of the leading causes of disability worldwide. According to findings by The World Stroke Organization, stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability among all neurological disorders, with more than 15 million people experiencing an acute cerebrovascular event each year. Motor deficits after a stroke can occur in both upper and lower extremities, with variable proportions.

The book provides an overview of the most important innovative medical parallel robots for medical rehabilitation developed within the Research Centre for Robots Simulation and Testing (CESTER) at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

The book covers the major areas of robotics for medical rehabilitation, specifically focusing on robotic systems designed for upper and lower limb rehabilitation.

The book is structured in six major chapters that gradually introduce the reader in the fascinating and challenging world of robotics for medical rehabilitation. Each chapter explores an innovative rehabilitation parallel robot, beginning with its task description, architecture definition and structural synthesis. It delves into kinematics, singularities and workspace analysis, followed by numerical simulation, control and operation of the robot.

The book serves as a valuable resource for a large audience, including Bachelor students, Master students, PhD students and researchers in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, control systems engineering and biomedical engineering. Additionally, the content may be of significant interest for physicians, physiotherapists and engineers in the medical and biomedical fields.

This publication marks a significant milestone in the authors’ ongoing efforts to make a meaningful contribution to the theoretical and practical training of students and researchers.