Comparison of Manipulative Indicators of Students and Therapists Using a Robotic Arm

Abstract Background: The purpose of this study was to clarify the motion therapy elements necessary for the education of students through comparison of the therapeutic motion techniques of therapists and students using an educational arm robot (Samothrace: SAMO) set with varying degrees of muscle tone pathology.Methods: The participants included eight therapists with more than five years of clinical experience and 25 fourth-year students from occupational therapy training schools who had completed their clinical practice. The therapeutic motion therapy task was a reciprocating exercise in which the elbow joint of SAMO was flexed from an extended position and then re-extended. This was performed three times for each of the three types of muscle tone intensities (mild, moderate, and severe), for a total of nine repetitions. The peak velocity, peak angle ratio, peak velocity time, and movement time were recorded using SAMO while the subjects performed the therapeutic motion therapy task. These data were compared using analysis of covariance. Results: The SAMO elbow joint kinematic data generated by therapists were significantly different than those of students for different muscle tones. It was clear from multiple comparisons that the therapeutic motion techniques of students were associated with higher peak velocity, smaller peak angle ratio, and shorter peak velocity time and movement time than those of therapists. Conclusion: The therapeutic motion techniques applied by the students in response to the muscle tone condition of the arm robot were different from those applied by therapists, suggesting that the students were not able to perform the therapeutic motion techniques in response to the degree of the muscle tone intensity in the same way that an expert could. Based on the results, when students learn therapeutic motion techniques, they should be taught to 1) deal with multiple muscle tone intensities and 2) reduce the speed of joint movement applied to the patient, extend the exercise time, and ensure maximum range of joint movement. These were the suggested guiding factors.