Evolution of proprioceptive dysfunctions after stroke: Insights from robotic metrics

Proprioception, the sense of body position, is essential for movement planning and postural control. However, its clinical assessment after stroke is generally rudimentary, limiting the design of personalized therapy regimes. In this study, we analyze the sensitivity of robotic metrics in comparison to clinical scales for proprioceptive assessment. Thirteen patients were screened with the Erasmus MC Nottingham Sensory Assessment and with a passive Joint Position Matching task by means of a wrist robot at hospital admission, discharge and 1-month follow-up. While the clinical test did not show significant differences across sessions, robotic metrics revealed that proprioceptive accuracy improved during the rehabilitation period, while improvements in proprioceptive precision required a longer time to occur and were noticeable in the follow-up session.