Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Develops Robots for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

Researchers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences are developing rehabilitation robots designed to assist stroke patients in their recovery. These robots will not only help patients regain movement in their arms and improve speech, but also provide psychological support to both patients and their families.

– Hello! It's time to start today's exercises.
– Give me three words to form a simple sentence.
– You can use the words: cat, runs, and garden.
– Garden cat runs. Did I say it right?
– Not quite!

In addition to acting as a speech therapist, the rehabilitation robot will be capable of offering emotional support to patients and their loved ones.

“The first three months after a stroke are critical. Families are often confused and don’t know what to do. They usually can’t afford a psychotherapist or speech therapist,” said Prof. Anna Lekova from the Institute of Robotics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).

The robot will be customized according to an individual rehabilitation plan created by the patient’s medical team.

“The social robot should remind the patient daily to perform their exercises, monitor their emotional state, and based on that, offer psychological support,”
explained Prof. Lekova.
– I’m feeling a bit tense. What can I do?
– Try to focus on your breathing.

The goal of the project is not to replace doctors, but to support them. With these robotic assistants, patients will be able to perform motor exercises at home.

“If one hand is functional, the patient could use it to assist the affected hand with wrist and finger rehabilitation. They could use the device as much as needed, not just for a limited time. The specific rehabilitation protocols will still be determined by the physician,”
said Prof. Tanyo Tanev, also from the Institute of Robotics at BAS.

According to the researchers, manufacturers have already expressed interest in the technology. Once development is complete, health authorities will need to approve the use of the rehabilitation robots in practice.