Development and evaluation of a haptic framework supporting telerehabilitation robotics and group interaction

Telerehabilitation robotics has grown remarkably in the past few years. It can provide intensive training to people with special needs remotely while facilitating therapists to observe the whole process. Telerehabilitation robotics is a promising solution supporting routine care which can help to transform face-to-face and one-on-one treatment sessions that require not only intensive human resource but are also restricted to some specialised care centres to treatments that are technology-based (less human involvement) and easy to access remotely from anywhere. However, there are some limitations such as network latency, jitter, and delay of the internet that can affect negatively user experience and quality of the treatment session. Moreover, the lack of social interaction since all treatments are performed over the internet can reduce motivation of the patients. As a result, these limitations are making it very difficult to deliver an efficient recovery plan. This thesis developed and evaluated a new framework designed to facilitate telerehabilitation robotics. The framework integrates multiple cutting-edge technologies to generate playful activities that involve group interaction with binaural audio, visual, and haptic feedback with robot interaction in a variety of environments. The research questions asked were: 1) Can activity mediated by technology motivate and influence the behaviour of users, so that they engage in the activity and sustain a good level of motivation? 2) Will working as a group enhance users’ motivation and interaction? 3) Can we transfer real life activity involving group interaction to virtual domain and deliver it reliably via the internet? There were three goals in this work: first was to compare people’s behaviours and motivations while doing the task in a group and on their own; second was to determine whether group interaction in virtual and reala environments was different from each other in terms of performance, engagement and strategy to complete the task; finally was to test out the effectiveness of the framework based on the benchmarks generated from socially assistive robotics literature. Three studies have been conducted to achieve the first goal, two with healthy participants and one with seven autistic children. The first study observed how people react in a challenging group task while the other two studies compared group and individual interactions. The results obtained from these studies showed that the group interactions were more enjoyable than individual interactions and most likely had more positive effects in terms of user behaviours. This suggests that the group interaction approach has the potential to motivate individuals to make more movements and be more active and could be applied in the future for more serious therapy. Another study has been conducted to measure group interaction’s performance in virtual and real environments and pointed out which aspect influences users’ strategy for dealing with the task. The results from this study helped to form a better understanding to predict a user’s behaviour in a collaborative task. A simulation has been run to compare the results generated from the predictor and the real data. It has shown that, with an appropriate training method, the predictor can perform very well. This thesis has demonstrated the feasibility of group interaction via the internet using robotic technology which could be beneficial for people who require social interaction (e.g. stroke patients and autistic children) in their treatments without regular visits to the clinical centres

EEG coherence between the verbal-analytical region (T3) and the motor-planning region (Fz) increases under stress in explicit motor learners but not implicit motor learners

This journal supplement contains abstracts of NASPSPA 2010Free Communications - Verbal and Poster: Motor Learning and Controlpublished_or_final_versionThe Annual Conference of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA 2010), Tucson, AZ., 10-12 June 2010. In Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2010, v. 32 suppl., p. S13

Physical human-robot collaboration: Robotic systems, learning methods, collaborative strategies, sensors, and actuators

This article presents a state-of-the-art survey on the robotic systems, sensors, actuators, and collaborative strategies for physical human-robot collaboration (pHRC). This article starts with an overview of some robotic systems with cutting-edge technologies (sensors and actuators) suitable for pHRC operations and the intelligent assist devices employed in pHRC. Sensors being among the essential components to establish communication between a human and a robotic system are surveyed. The sensor supplies the signal needed to drive the robotic actuators. The survey reveals that the design of new generation collaborative robots and other intelligent robotic systems has paved the way for sophisticated learning techniques and control algorithms to be deployed in pHRC. Furthermore, it revealed the relevant components needed to be considered for effective pHRC to be accomplished. Finally, a discussion of the major advances is made, some research directions, and future challenges are presented

Attention and time constraints in performing and learning a table tennis forehand shot

This is a section on p. S95 of article 'Verbal and Poster: Motor Development, Motor Learning and Control, and Sport and Exercise Psychology' in Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2010, v.32, p.S36-S237published_or_final_versio

Experimental Manipulation of Action Perception Based on Modeling Computations in Visual Cortex

Action perception, planning and execution is a broad area of study, crucial for future development of clinical therapies treating social cognitive disorders, as well as for building human-computer interaction systems and for giving foundation to an emerging field of developmental robotics. We took interest in basic mechanisms of action perception, and as a model area chose dynamic perception of body motion. The focus of this thesis has been on understanding how perception of actions can be manipulated, how to distill this understanding experimentally, and how to summarize via numerical simulation the neural mechanisms helping explain observed dynamic phenomena. Experimentally we have, first, shown how a careful manipulation of a static object depth cue can in principle modulate perception of actions. We chose the luminance gradient as a model cue, and linked action perception to a perceptual prior previously studied in object recognition – the lighting from above-prior. Second, we have explored the dynamic relationship between representations of actions that are naturally observed in spatiotemporal proximity. We have shown an adaptation aftereffect that may speak of brain mechanisms encoding social interactions. To qualitatively capture neural mechanisms behind ours and previous findings, we have additionally appealed to the perceptual bistability phenomenon. Bistable perception refers to the ability to spontaneously switch between two perceptual alternatives arising from an observation of a single stimulus. Addition of depth cues to biological motion stimulus resolves depth-ambiguity. To account for neural dynamics as well as for modulation of action percept by light source position, we used a combined architecture with a convolutional neural network computing shading and form features in biological motion stimuli, and a 2-dimensional neural field coding for walking direction and body configuration in the gait cycle. This single unified model matches experimentally observed switching statistics, dependence of recognized walking direction on the light source position, and makes a prediction for the adaptation aftereffect in perception of biological motion

Discovering Motor Phenotypes in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Syndrome Approach

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a behavioral phenotype characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction accompanied by restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities. Currently in the US, approximately 2.5% of children have a diagnosis of ASD. The etiology of ASD is complex, however the disorder does have a strong genetic basis. Specific genetic mutations can lead to neuroanatomical and neurophysiological changes during development resulting in a behavioral phenotype that falls along the ASD spectrum and may result in a diagnosis of ASD. The severity of ASD-specific behaviors falls on a continuum and co-occurring psychiatric disorders are common – adding to the complexity of the disorder. In addition to specific gene mutations implicated in the diagnosis of ASD, specific brain regions are also implicated in ASD that are different from those observed in other common neurodevelopmental disorders – such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Studying the neuroanatomical footprint of ASD is a relatively new area of research fueled by the desire to bridge the gap between brain structure and function. Several brain regions implicated in the core social/communication deficits and repetitive behaviors associated with ASD are also involved in various aspects of motor control. These brain areas include cortical regions such as the primary motor cortex (M1), primary somatosensory cortex (S1), inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and subcortical structures that include the cerebellum and basal ganglia. These neuroanatomical findings are bolstered by several studies detailing a wide range of motor deficits in children and adults with ASD. Therefore, studying motor control may provide another means to study the neurological underpinnings of ASD. However, the meaningfulness of nearly all studies detailing motor control deficits in children with ASD is limited due to comparisons limited to a single typically developing (TD) control group. Therefore, the specificity of motor deficits in children with ASD is not well understood since intellectual and behavioral deficits – not specific to children with ASD – may also contribute to the observed motor deficits between children with ASD and TD controls. To overcome this limitation, the current dissertation project employs a cross-syndrome design that includes two additional clinical control groups of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with similar intellectual and behavioral impairments as children with ASD. Utilizing this novel approach, motor deficits specific to children with ASD may be identified, allowing for the generation of new hypotheses about the neurological underpinnings of ASD. To bridge the gap between neuroscience and motor control in the study of ASD it is important to understand what findings from both fields of research reveal about ASD. Therefore, an extensive literature review (Chapter 1) is warranted to orient the reader to what is currently known about the underlying neurology and motor deficits associated with ASD. To detail the progression of knowledge about the neuroanatomical deficits associated with ASD, the literature review will funnel from general to more specific findings from animal-models of ASD and human patient studies. Following the neuroanatomical review, a detailed overview of findings from motor control studies on individuals with ASD will be reviewed and discussed in relation to the key neuroanatomical findings in children with ASD. The overall purpose of this dissertation was to identify motor features specifically impaired in children with ASD using a cross-syndrome design. This dissertation explores the three different motor tasks that previous studies have shown to be impaired in children with ASD compared to TD controls. To examine the specificity of previously observed deficits, motor features were extracted from: (1) a precision-grip force tracking task; (2) a postural maintenance task; and (3) a manual dexterity task and compared between children with ASD and children with FASD, ADHD, and TD controls. The first study (Chapter 2) examines group differences in isometric precision-grip static force output features in children with ASD, FASD, ADHD, and TD controls. In this study, grip-force output was maintained at 15% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and no group differences were observed for: (1) relative force accuracy; (2) relative variability; (3) complexity; or (4) frequency structure of the force signal. However, the relative proportion of low frequency oscillations (0-1 Hz) was significantly associated with force accuracy, variability, and complexity in the ASD-group only. In the second study (Chapter 3), dynamic force control features were examined using a ramp-up (0-25% MVC) and ramp-down (25-0% MVC) task. Compared to the TD group, the children with ASD demonstrated significantly: (1) greater relative error during ramp-up and ramp-down; (2) lower ramp-up force-complexity; and (3) greater relative error during transition between ramp-up and ramp-down phases. In the third study (Chapter 4), postural sway features during quiet stance and unipedal stance time were examined. Compared to the FASD, ADHD, and TD groups, the children with ASD demonstrated significantly: (1) greater postural sway area and (2) mediolateral (ML) sway magnitude. Furthermore, children with ASD group demonstrated significantly greater anteroposterior (AP) sway velocity between the TD and FASD groups, and lower ML sway complexity compared to the FASD group only. For unipedal stance, TD children had greater stance times compared to all clinical groups. However, postural sway area was associated with unipedal stance times only in the ASD group. In the fourth study (Chapter 5), manual dexterity of the dominant and non-dominant was examined. Children in the ASD group showed significantly: (1) worse dominant hand dexterity compared to TD controls and (2) worse non-dominant hand dexterity compared to children in the FASD and TD groups. Finally, hand performance asymmetry was significantly lower children with FASD than children without FASD. In summary, this dissertation uses a cross-syndrome approach to identify motor features specifically impaired in children with ASD. Throughout the dissertation, several ASD-specific motor features were identified that align with current knowledge of neuroanatomical deficits associated with ASD. Furthermore, identification of ASD-specific motor features using biomechanics techniques may provide a means to quantitatively study the effects of various pharmacological, behavioral, and non-invasive brain stimulation interventions in clinical settings. Therefore, studying the motor system in children with ASD may have clinical importance due to challenges in quantifying changes in behaviors associated with ASD. In this dissertation, several ASD-specific motor features are identified that can be measured quickly in clinical settings. Further research is required to examine the clinical utility of quantitative motor testing in children with ASD

Cortico-muscular coherence in sensorimotor synchronisation

This thesis sets out to investigate the neuro-muscular control mechanisms underlying the ubiquitous phenomenon of sensorimotor synchronisation (SMS). SMS is the coordination of movement to external rhythms, and is commonly observed in everyday life. A large body of research addresses the processes underlying SMS at the levels of behaviour and brain. Comparatively, little is known about the coupling between neural and behavioural processes, i.e. neuro-muscular processes. Here, the neuro-muscular processes underlying SMS were investigated in the form of cortico-muscular coherence measured based on Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electromyography (EMG) recorded in human healthy participants. These neuro-muscular processes were investigated at three levels of engagement: passive listening and observation of rhythms in the environment, imagined SMS, and executed SMS, which resulted in the testing of three hypotheses: (i) Rhythms in the environment, such as music, spontaneously modulate cortico-muscular coupling, (ii) Movement intention modulates cortico-muscular coupling, and (iii) Cortico-muscular coupling is dynamically modulated during SMS time-locked to the stimulus rhythm. These three hypotheses were tested through two studies that used Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electromyography (EMG) recordings to measure Cortico-muscular coherence (CMC). First, CMC was tested during passive music listening, to test whether temporal and spectral properties of music stimuli known to induce groove, i.e., the subjective experience of wanting to move, can spontaneously modulate the overall strength of the communication between the brain and the muscles. Second, imagined and executed movement synchronisation was used to investigate the role of movement intention and dynamics on CMC. The two studies indicate that both top-down, and somatosensory and/or proprioceptive processes modulate CMC during SMS tasks. Although CMC dynamics might be linked to movement dynamics, no direct correlation between movement performance and CMC was found. Furthermore, purely passive auditory or visual rhythmic stimulation did not affect CMC. Together, these findings thus indicate that movement intention and active engagement with rhythms in the environment might be critical in modulating CMC. Further investigations of the mechanisms and function of CMC are necessary, as they could have important implications for clinical and elderly populations, as well as athletes, where optimisation of motor control is necessary to compensate for impaired movement or to achieve elite performance