BASTERIS , Angelo

We investigate whether and on what circumstances physical interaction with a robot may facilitate the acquisition of a novel motor skill. We focus on two different motor tasks: (i) intermanual transfer of cursive handwriting and (ii) acquisition of a putting skill. In the case of handwriting, we found that intermanual transfer is facilitated by...

We propose a general adaptive procedure to select the appropriate degree of assistance based on a Bayesian mechanism used to estimate psychophysical thresholds. This technique does not need an accurate model of learning and recovery processes. This procedure is validated in the context of a motor skill learning problem (control of a virtual...

We examined whether intermanual transfer of fine motor skills can be facilitated by training in a virtual environment. We focused on three types of assistance: visual subjects could see a reference template on a computer screen and two variants of haptic assistance. Subjects held a planar robot manipulandum and were required to write isolated...

Robots are widely used to promote the neuromotor recovery of stroke survivors, but it is unclear whether robots might be useful to facilitate the acquisition of novel motor skills. In principle, robots could be used to guide a trainee to experiment the correct movements and/or by preventing him/her from performing incorrect ones (the guidance...

BACKGROUND: Bradykinesia (slow movements) is a common symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) and results in reduced mobility and postural instability. The objective of this study is to develop and demonstrate a technology-assisted exercise protocol that is specifically aimed at reducing bradykinesia. METHODS: Seven persons with PD participated in...

An important issue in sensorimotor adaptation is what drives adaptation, and whether different types of perturbations are mediated by different adaptation mechanisms. Here we assess whether any interference is observed among the joint adaptation to visual (i.e. kinematic) and force (i.e. dynamic) perturbations. Subjects adapted their reaching...

We developed a robot-assisted rehabilitation protocol, specifically designed to treat cerebellar and motor symptoms in subjects with Multiple Sclerosis. The task consists of controlling a 'virtual' tool (a mass-spring system), under the effect of a resistive force. The exercise is designed in such a way that task difficulty and the degree of...