Interactive Robotics in Medicine and Care
© Bielefeld University / Patrick Pollmeier
Robot-assisted sports and movement therapy with NAO
This project is a collaboration between the Medical School OWL at Bielefeld University, the EvKB, Lippe Trauma Surgery and the Hand&Fuß physiotherapy practice. The aim is to utilise the NAO robot as support in everyday clinical practice. Physical activity plays an important role in the treatment of mental disorders, but so far robots have hardly been used in paediatric and adolescent psychiatry.
We would like to examine whether a robot-assisted sports programme can be used in therapy and whether this type of supplement to physiotherapy can potentially have a positive effect on the child's well-being and recovery. To this end, we are comparing the usual sports programme at our facility with a programme that also integrates NAO. The sports robot is accompanied by a sports therapist and trained specialist staff.
The pilot study has already been successfully completed. The study design, a feasible sports programme, the interface and the programming of the robot were successfully developed and implemented.
What is the aim of the study?
The study examines whether robot-assisted physiotherapy is well received by children and adolescents undergoing treatment at our clinic. First and foremost, the acceptance of the robots is measured and whether they have a positive influence on the recovery, compliance, motivation and commitment of the children.
Accordingly, we address the following questions:
- How can the NAO humanoid robot be implemented in a clinical and outpatient setting? What are the requirements for the framework conditions and the system?
- Is NAO accepted? Do the patients co-operate? How is NAO received by patients, parents and staff? Are patients, parents and therapists satisfied with the robot-assisted movement therapy?
- How well does NAO motivate children and adolescents to move more? Is a robot-assisted sports and exercise programme comparable (or perhaps even superior) to a standard programme (treatment as usual) in terms of motivation?
- Can a robot-assisted physiotherapy programme have a positive influence on post-operative mobilisation? Is the effect of the robot-assisted sports and exercise programme comparable to or perhaps even superior to that of the standard programme (treatment as usual)?
- Can a humanoid robot have a positive influence on patients' trust in physiotherapists?
What is our vision?
Sport, exercise and coordination skills are essential for healthy development - especially in childhood and adolescence. Digital media and assistive technologies are becoming increasingly present and attractive. Our vision is to combine these two development trends and make sports, therapy and exercise programmes more attractive and more frequently available in clinical and outpatient settings. In particular, we see the interactive and "tangible" aspect of robots as being superior to video-based sports and therapy exercises. We want to show children and young people how such systems can be used. At the same time, we also want to expand their understanding and knowledge of artificial intelligence and interactions with it. Being able to use robots as a support (not a replacement!) could offer various positive additions to clinical routine. We want to find out whether and how this is possible.
Who is NAO?
NAO is 57.3 cm tall and weighs 5.2 kilograms. His many individual motors in his joints enable him to move in a very human-like manner. NAO walks, sits down, stands up and, if he should fall, uses a safety pose to avoid "hurting" himself. The ability to communicate via 11 tactile sensors, which are located on the head as well as on the hands and feet, is what makes it special. In addition to communicating via loudspeakers and microphones, the LEDs in its eyes light up in different colours.
NAO is a humanoid robot. The embodiment of such robots is advantageous for demonstrating movement exercises. They are also very cute and children usually have a positive attitude towards these robots.
Psychiatric patients
Child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy at the Bethel Protestant Hospital (EvKB)
Who can take part?
Patients between the ages of 8 and 18 with the following diagnoses can take part:
F32.0 (mild depressive episode)
F32.1 (moderate depressive episode)
F32.2 (major depressive episode without psychotic symptoms)
Procedure of the study
The patients are randomised into two groups (control group and NAO group). In the NAO group, the children and adolescents complete two 30-minute sports sessions per week with the robot in addition to their regular sports sessions. The study lasts a total of 8 weeks.
The robot-assisted sports programme, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), consists of
- A 5-minute warm-up programme
- 20 minutes of station training (coordination and strength exercises)
- 5 minutes of stretching exercises
Surgical patients
Clinic for Trauma Surgery and Orthopaedics Lippe
Who can take part?
Patients between the ages of 4 and 16 who have undergone abdominal surgery can take part.
Procedure of the study
The patients are randomised into two groups (control group and NAO group).
In the NAO group, the children and adolescents each undergo 30 minutes of physiotherapy with NAO and a physiotherapist from the first to the third postoperative day.
In the control group, the children and adolescents undergo three 30-minute physiotherapy sessions with the physiotherapist without NAO (this is the regular physiotherapy programme offered by the clinic).
The robot-assisted therapy programme consists of
- A warm-up programme
- Light movement exercises
- Mobilisation
Clinic for Paediatric Surgery and Paediatric and Adolescent Urology at the Protestant Hospital Bethel (EvKB)
Who can take part?
Patients between the ages of 4 and 16 who have undergone abdominal surgery can take part.
Procedure of the study
The patients are randomised into two groups (control group and NAO group).
In the NAO group, the children and adolescents undergo 30 minutes of physiotherapy with NAO and a physiotherapist from the first to the third postoperative day.
In the control group, the children and adolescents undergo 30 minutes of physiotherapy three times with the physiotherapist without NAO (this is the regular physiotherapy programme offered by the clinic).
The robot-assisted therapy programme consists of
- A warm-up programme
- Light movement exercises
- Mobilisation
Physiotherapy practice "Hand and Foot"
Who can take part?
Patients between the ages of 4 and 16 with fractures of the lower extremities can take part.
Procedure of the study
The patients are randomised into two groups (control group and NAO group).
In the NAO group, the children and adolescents each undergo 30 minutes of physiotherapy with NAO and a physiotherapist from the first to the third postoperative day.
In the control group, the children and adolescents undergo three 30-minute physiotherapy sessions with the physiotherapist without NAO (this is the regular physiotherapy programme offered by the clinic).
The robot-assisted therapy programme consists of
- A warm-up programme
- Light movement exercises
- Mobilisation