Rééducation neurovasculaire du membre supérieur et robotique : une thérapie émergente prometteuse

The last decade has seen significant changes in rehabilitation care for poststroke hemiplegia. The emergence of concepts of brain plasticity and motor learning has led to the development of new therapeutic approaches. The majority have focused on movement therapy that have enabled real neurological recovery, allowing patients to achieve significant functional improvement. In this context of changing practices, the hemiplegic arm is the subject of special attention. The “natural” prognosis often being unfavourable, with conventional therapeutic methods having relatively limited effects, has encouraged researchers to work on new alternatives. Cooperation between actors of the technological field and the medical field allowed the development of innovative therapeutic options, often based on the use of technological tools (functional electric stimulation, virtual reality, transcranial magnetic stimulation…) to request or facilitate movement. Rehabilitation assisted by a robot device lies within this scope. The positive results of the most recent publications and the growing interest of both engineering and medical researchers for this type of therapy emphasizes the potential for extremely promising prospects. However, despite advances in technological performances, many questions remain outstanding requiring further research.