- Title
- “Are we there yet?” expectations and experiences with lower limb robotic exoskeletons: a qualitative evaluation of the therapist perspective
- Creator
- Postol, Nicola; Barton, Julia; Wakely, Luke; Bivard, Andrew; Spratt, Neil J.; Marquez, Jodie
- Relation
- Disabilility Rehabilitation Vol. 46, Issue 5 March 2023, p. 1023-1030
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2023.2183992
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2024
- Description
- Purpose: Lower limb robotic exoskeletons can assist movement, however, clinical uptake in neurorehabilitation is limited. The views and experiences of clinicians are pivotal to the successful clinical implementation of emerging technologies. This study investigates therapist perspectives of the clinical use and future role of this technology in neurorehabilitation. Methods: Australian and New Zealand-based therapists with lower limb exoskeleton experience were recruited to complete an online survey and semi-structured interview. Survey data were transposed into tables and interviews transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data collection and analysis were guided by qualitative content analysis and interview data were thematically analysed. Results: Five participants revealed that the use of exoskeletons to deliver therapy involves the interplay of human elements - experiences and perspectives of use, and mechanical elements - the device itself. Two overarching themes emerged: the "journey", with subthemes of clinical reasoning and user experience; and the "vehicle" with design features and cost as subthemes, to explore the question "Are we there yet?" Conclusion: Therapists expressed positive and negative perspectives from their experiences with exoskeletons, giving suggestions for design features, marketing input, and cost to enhance future use. Therapists are optimistic that this journey will see lower limb exoskeletons integral to rehabilitation service delivery.
- Subject
- clinical implementation; rehabilitation engineering; neurorehabilitation; barriers; enablers
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1479759
- Identifier
- uon:50365
- Identifier
- ISSN:0963-8288
- Rights
- © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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