Challenges in Designing a Fully Autonomous Socially Assistive Robot for People with Parkinson’s Disease

A novel socially assistive robotic platform for cognitive-motor exercises for individuals with Parkinson's Disease: a participatory-design study from conception to feasibility testing with end users

The potential of socially assistive robots (SAR) to assist in rehabilitation has been demonstrated in contexts such as stroke and cardiac rehabilitation. Our objective was to design and test a platform that addresses specific cognitive-motor training needs of individuals with Parkinson's disease (IwPD). We used the participatory design approach, and collected input from a total of 62 stakeholders (IwPD, their family members and clinicians) in interviews, brainstorming sessions and in-lab feasibility testing of the resulting prototypes. The platform we developed includes two custom-made mobile desktop robots, which engage users in concurrent cognitive and motor tasks. IwPD (n = 16) reported high levels of enjoyment when using the platform (median = 5/5) and willingness to use the platform in the long term (median = 4.5/5). We report the specifics of the hardware and software design as well as the detailed input from the stakeholders.

Development of a metric to evaluate the ergonomic principles of assistive systems, based on the DIN 92419

The DIN 92419 defines six principles for assistive systems' ergonomic design. There is, however, a lack of measurement tools to evaluate assistive systems considering these principles. Consequently, this study developed a measurement tool for the quantitative evaluation of the fulfilment of each principle for assistive systems. A systematic literature review was performed to identify dimensions belonging to the principles, identify how previous research evaluated these dimensions, and develop a measurement tool for assistive systems. Findings show that scales commonly used for evaluating assistive systems disregard several aspects highlighted as relevant by research, implying the need for considering the DIN 92419 principles. Based on established scales and theoretical findings, a questionnaire, and a checklist for evaluating assistive systems were developed. The work provides a grounding for measuring relevant aspects of assistive systems. Further development is needed to substantiate the reliability and validity of the proposed questionnaire scales and items. Practitioner Summary: Responding to the gap of a holistic measurement tool to evaluate assistive systems, a systematic literature review was performed considering the DIN 92419 principles. This resulted in a comprehensive summary of relevant aspects of assistive systems that were made numerically measurable, which proposes better criteria to assess assistive systems. Abbreviations: IoT: internet of things; RQ: research question; TAM: technology acceptance model; UTAUT: unified theory of acceptance and use of technology; AaaS: adaptivity as a service; SAR: socially assistive robots; SEEV: salience, effort, expectancy, and value; PRISMA: preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses; HMI: human-machine interaction; HRI: human-robot interaction; BCI: brain-computer interface; QUEST: Quebec user evaluation of satisfaction with assistive technology; SUS: system usability scale; NASA-TLX: NASA task load index; ATD PA: assistive technology device predisposition assessment; Wheel Con: wheelchair use confidence scale; CATOM: caregiver assistive technology outcome measure; CBI: caregiver burden inventory; RoSAS: robotic social attributes scale; WheelCon: wheelchair use confidence scale; IMI: intrinsic motivation inventory; ATD PA: assistive technology device predisposition assessment; UEQ: User experience questionnaire; USEUQ: usefulness satisfaction and ease of use questionnaire; USPW: usability scale for power wheelchairs; UES: user engagement scale; SUTAQ: service user technology acceptability questionnaire; QUEAD: questionnaire for the evaluation of physical assistive devices; FATCAT: functional assessment tool for cognitive assistive technology; SE-HRI: human-robot interaction scale; SART: situation awareness rating technique; TSQ;WT: tele-healthcare satisfaction questionnaire-wearable technology; PAIF: participants' assessment of the intervention's feasibility; SWAT: subjective workload assessment technique; MARS-HA: measure of audiologic rehabilitation self-efficacy for hearing aids; IOI-HA: International outcome inventory for hearing aids; FMA: functional mobility assessment; FBIS: familiarity and behavioural intention survey; CSQ: client satisfaction questionnaire; COPM: canadian occupational performance measure; ATCS: assistive technology confidence scale; ACC: acceptance; SSP: safety, security and privacy; OPT: optimisation of resultant internal load; CTRL: controllability; ADAPT: adaptability; P&I: perceptibility and identifiability; AAL: ambient assisted living; VR: virtual reality; AS: assistive system; WEIRD: Western, educated, industrialised, rich, and democratic; HEART: horizontal european activities of rehabilitation technology; AAATE: advancement of assistive technology in Europe's; GATE: global collaboration on assistive technology; ATA-C: assistive technology assessment toolkit.

Socially Assistive Robots for Parkinson's Disease: Needs, Attitudes and Specific Applications as Identified by Healthcare Professionals

To explore how socially assistive robots (SARs) may assist the specific needs of individuals with Parkinson's disease (IwPD), we conducted three focus groups with 12 clinicians who treat IwPD. We present a thematic analysis of their perceptions of the needs of the patients, and their own expectations, perceived advantages, disadvantages and concerns regarding the use of SARs for IwPD. Clinicians were positive towards using SARs for IwPD, if used in the patient's home, for motor, communication, emotional, and cognitive needs, especially for practice and for help with activities of daily living. They were concerned that a SAR might be used to replace clinicians’ work, and stressed it should only augment the clinicians’ work. They thought a SAR may relieve some of the burden experienced by informal caregivers, and identified specific applications for SARs for PD. We asked 18 stakeholders (nine IwPD, nine family members) to rate their level of agreement with the clinicians’ statements. The greatest divergence between their views and those of the clinicians was on the topic of using a SAR as a companion, or as a feeding assistant, to which they objected. This work may be used as a basis for future studies designing SARs for IwPD.

Enabling AI and Robotic Coaches for Physical Rehabilitation Therapy: Iterative Design and Evaluation with Therapists and Post-stroke Survivors

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic coaches promise the improved engagement of patients on rehabilitation exercises through social interaction. While previous work explored the potential of automatically monitoring exercises for AI and robotic coaches, the deployment of these systems remains a challenge. Previous work described the lack of involving stakeholders to design such functionalities as one of the major causes. In this paper, we present our efforts on eliciting the detailed design specifications on how AI and robotic coaches could interact with and guide patient’s exercises in an effective and acceptable way with four therapists and five post-stroke survivors. Through iterative questionnaires and interviews, we found that both post-stroke survivors and therapists appreciated the potential benefits of AI and robotic coaches to achieve more systematic management and improve their self-efficacy and motivation on rehabilitation therapy. In addition, our evaluation sheds light on several practical concerns (e.g. a possible difficulty with the interaction for people with cognitive impairment, system failures, etc.). We discuss the value of early involvement of stakeholders and interactive techniques that complement system failures, but also support a personalized therapy session for the better deployment of AI and robotic exercise coaches.