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Objective: Robot-assisted neuro-rehabilitation therapy plays a central role in upper extremity recovery of stroke. Even though, the efficacy of robotic training on upper extremity is not yet well defined and scant attention has been devoted to its potential effect on lower extremity. In this paper, the aim was to compare efficacy on upper and lower extremities between robot-assisted training (RAT) and therapist-mediated enhanced upper extremity therapy (EUET).Methods: A  randomized clinical trial involving 172 stroke survivors was conducted in China. All participants received either RAT or EUET for 3 weeks. The Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity subscale (FMA-UE), Fugl-Meyer assessment lower extremity subscale (FMA-LE), and Modified Barthel Index (MBI) were administered at baseline, mid-treatment (one week after treatment start), and posttreatment.  Results: Participants in RAT group showed a significant improvement in hemiplegia extremity, which was non-inferior to EUET group in FMA-UE (p<0.05), while suggesting greater motor recovery of lower extremity in FMA-LE (p<0.05) compared with EUET group. A marked increase in MBI was observed within groups, however, no significant difference was detected between groups.Conclusion: RAT is non-inferior in reducing impairment of upper extremity and appears to be superior in that of lower extremity compared with EUET for stroke survivors.

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