Abstract
Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability, leaving most survivors with motor impairments that limit independence and daily living. As the need for rehabilitation increases worldwide, strain is placed on health systems through the shortage of therapists and constrained clinic capacity. Robotic devices have emerged as an attractive solution to expand therapy capacity. Clinical studies indicate that robot-assisted therapy enhances motor function, dexterity, and neuroplasticity by enabling more repetitive, measurable, and intensive practice than many standard approaches. My two projects examine that problem from complementary angles. The technical project asks how to design a soft upper-limb exoskeleton that can help stroke survivors practice movement more intensively, comfortably, and affordably. The STS project asks what happens to physical therapy as rehabilitative robots become more common in clinics, especially when efficiency, standardization, and reimbursement pressures shape how these tools are used. Together, the projects address the same underlying tension: rehabilitation technologies promise to extend access and improve outcomes, but they can also reshape professional expertise, patient experience, and the meaning of good care. This matters because stroke recovery depends not only on repetitions and range of motion, but also on judgment, adaptation, motivation, and trust. A robot that improves one set of outcomes may still fail if it undermines the human relationships and clinical discretion that make rehabilitation effective in practice.
Notes
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Sarah Sun
STS Advisor: Caitlin Wylie
Technical Team Members: Zoe Benton, Juan Gomez, Aidan Mermagen, Sam Moran, Katie Page, Sean Pawlowski, Hannah Tse, Madelyn Tubbs, Andrew Wittman
