A Socially Assistive Robot for Long-Term Cardiac Rehabilitation in the Real World

Abstract

What are the benefits of using a socially assistive robot for long-term cardiac rehabilitation? To answer this question we designed and conducted a real-world long-term study, in collaboration with medical specialists, at the Fundación Cardioinfantil-Instituto de Cardiología clinic (Bogotá, Colombia) lasting 2.5 years. The study took place within the context of the outpatient phase of patients' cardiac rehabilitation programme and aimed to compare the patients' progress and adherence in the conventional cardiac rehabilitation programme (control condition) against rehabilitation supported by a fully autonomous socially assistive robot which continuously monitored the patients during exercise to provide immediate feedback and motivation based on sensory measures (robot condition). The explicit aim of the social robot is to improve patient motivation and increase adherence to the programme to ensure a complete recovery. We recruited 15 patients per condition. The cardiac rehabilitation programme was designed to last 36 sessions (18 weeks) per patient. The findings suggest that robot increases adherence (by 13.3%) and leads to faster completion of the programme. In addition, the patients assisted by the robot had more rapid improvement in their recovery heart rate, better physical activity performance and a higher improvement in cardiovascular functioning, which indicate a successful cardiac rehabilitation programme performance. Moreover, the medical staff and the patients acknowledged that the robot improved the patient motivation and adherence to the programme, supporting its potential in addressing the major challenges in rehabilitation programmes.

A Data-Driven Approach to Physical Fatigue Management Using Wearable Sensors to Classify Four Diagnostic Fatigue States

“…Finally, it is significant to emphasize that social interaction has been shown to have a positive impact on general mental and physical well-being in physical exercise therapy [ 79 , 80 ]. Therefore, the use of these artificial intelligence systems has a great potential in physical rehabilitation scenarios application through the use of socially assistive robots (SAR) [ 81 , 82 , 83 ]. SAR is a system that employs interaction strategies, including the use of speech, facial expressions, and communicative gestures, to assist according to a specific healthcare environment [ 80 ].…”

“…SAR is a system that employs interaction strategies, including the use of speech, facial expressions, and communicative gestures, to assist according to a specific healthcare environment [ 80 ]. Several studies have shown that SAR systems improve (i) the ability to influence the patient’s intrinsic motivation to perform the task and (ii) the ability to personalize the social interaction to maintain user engagement in the task through permanent patient monitoring and feedback [ 79 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ]. Therefore, with the support of the machine learning models, this technology has been used to provide better service and improve patient’s experience and treatment outcomes [ 81 , 83 ].…”

“…Several studies have shown that SAR systems improve (i) the ability to influence the patient’s intrinsic motivation to perform the task and (ii) the ability to personalize the social interaction to maintain user engagement in the task through permanent patient monitoring and feedback [ 79 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ]. Therefore, with the support of the machine learning models, this technology has been used to provide better service and improve patient’s experience and treatment outcomes [ 81 , 83 ]. An example of the above is the study conducted by Casas et al [ 81 ], who implemented a social robot to act as a training assistant in a cardiac rehabilitation program in a clinical setting.…”

A Survey on Socially Assistive Robotics: Clinicians’ and Patients’ Perception of a Social Robot within Gait Rehabilitation Therapies

“…These multi-tasking processes can affect the quality of the assistance provided by the clinicians towards the patients, since there are several variables that must be measured during therapy, such as heart rate, posture and space-time parameters of gait [8,9]. Moreover, PR has to be a comprehensive strategy that includes social and psychological approaches to increase patients' engagement and motivation [10]. Motivation is a fundamental tool in establishing adherence to a therapy regimen or task scenario and promoting behavior change [11].…”

“…Casas et al [10,23] present a perception study applied to the clinicians and patients who participate in the Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) service. A questionnaire based on the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology (UTAUT) was implemented.…”