Robot-Mediated Physical Human-Human Interaction in Rehabilitation: A Position Paper
Journal article, 2025
Neurorehabilitation conventionally relies on the interaction between a patient and a physical therapist. Robotic systems can improve and enrich the physical feedback provided to patients after neurological injury, but they under-utilize the adaptability and clinical expertise of trained therapists. In this position paper, we advocate for a novel approach that integrates the therapist's clinical expertise and nuanced decision-making with the strength, accuracy, and repeatability of robotics: Robot-mediated physical Human-Human Interaction. This framework, which enables two individuals to physically interact through robotic devices, has been studied across diverse research groups and has recently emerged as a promising link between conventional manual therapy and rehabilitation robotics, harmonizing the strengths of both approaches. Although current findings are largely based on pilot studies and conceptual frameworks, integrating therapists' expertise with the functionalities offered by robotic systems represents a promising direction for improving rehabilitation outcomes. This paper presents the rationale of a multidisciplinary team - including engineers, doctors, and physical therapists - for conducting research that utilizes: a unified taxonomy to describe robot-mediated rehabilitation, a framework of interaction based on social psychology, and a technological approach that makes robotic systems seamless facilitators of natural human-human interaction.
Rehabilitation robotics
pHRI
Author
Lorenzo Vianello
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Matthew Short
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Northwestern University
Julia Manczurowsky
Northeastern University
Emek Baris Kucuktabak
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Northwestern University
Francesco Di Tommaso
Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Alessia Noccaro
Newcastle University
Laura Bandini
University of Genoa
Shoshana Clark
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Alaina Fiorenza
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Francesca Lunardini
Hospital Los Madroños
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Alberto Canton
Hospital Los Madroños
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Marta Gandolla
Polytechnic University of Milan
Alessandra L.G. Pedrocchi
Polytechnic University of Milan
Emilia Ambrosini
Polytechnic University of Milan
Manuel Murie-Fernandez
Canarian Foundation Institute of Neurological Sciences
Carmen B. Roman
Canarian Foundation Institute of Neurological Sciences
Jesus Tornero
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Hospital Los Madroños
Natacha Leon
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Hospital Los Madroños
Andrew Sawers
University of Illinois
Jim Patton
University of Illinois
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Domenico Formica
Newcastle University
Nevio Luigi Tagliamonte
Neurological Institute Foundation Casimiro Mondino
Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
Georg Rauter
University of Basel
Kilian Baur
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)
Fabian Just
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control
University of Ulm
Christopher J. Hasson
Northeastern University
Vesna D. Novak
Northeastern University
Jose L. Pons
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Northwestern University
IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering
1937-3333 (ISSN) 19411189 (eISSN)
Vol. In PressSubject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Human Computer Interaction
Neurology
Areas of Advance
Health Engineering
DOI
10.1109/RBME.2025.3632161
PubMed
41289133