Research progress of transcranial direct current stimulation and robotic therapy for the impaired upper limb motor function in stroke patients / 国际生物医学工程杂志

ABSTRACT

The upper limb dysfunction after stroke has a high incidence,and is difficult to recovery,which seriously affects the patients' activities of daily living and the quality of life.Scholars have been exploring new and effective rehabilitation strategies for upper limb dysfunction after stroke.Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS),a typical form of non-invasive brain stimulation,is widely used in upper limb function rehabilitation by modulating the excitability of the cerebral cortex to improve motion performance.Some results showed that tDCS combined with repetitive rehabilitation training can significantly improve the motion function of stroke patients.Robotic therapy (RT) provides high-intensity,repetitive motion therapy that meets the training needs of patients at different levels.Therefore,tDCS combined with RT can effectively enhance the upper limb function rehabilitation effect of stroke patients.In this paper,the research status of tDCS combined with RT in the treatment of upper limb function after stroke were reviewed such as target patients,treatment methods,rehabilitation effects,combination methods,etc.The research trends and future development ideas in this field were discussed.