This paper proposes the fusion of low-cost unobtrusive heterogeneous sensors (MEMS thermal and radar sensors) to monitor the rehabilitation activities of post-stroke sufferers within home-based settings. Results of the proposed approach are planned to be compared with a standard EMG sensor to ascertain the authenticity, validity and repeatability of the newly introduced sensing solution.
MEMS, unobtrusive, Radar, Thermal, Sensing, Post-stroke
1. INTRODUCTION
Stroke is a cerebrovascular disease which interrupts
the flow of oxygenated blood to certain regions of the
brain. This often results in sudden loss of
neurological functions making it difficult for the
sufferer to carry out certain activities of daily living
(ADL) (D’Aliberti et al., 2017).
Post-stroke rehabilitation has witnessed the use of
Isokinetic dynamometers, low-frequency
transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and
EMG devices, amongst others, to assist in retraining
the affected muscles group(s). This is often
performed within a laboratory setting, a hospital
facility or through the use of wearable sensors at
home. While the lab and hospital environments may
seem rigorous to post-stroke patients and pose a
range of logistical complexities, wearable sensors
suffer from a range of problems relating to battery
life, wearability and adoption. The resultant effect of
these being the discontinuation of the rehabilitation
process (Igual et al., 2013).
Opportunities therefore exist for the use of
alternative and unobtrusive sensing solutions that
can be used within home based settings. These
have the potential to avoid the aforementioned
issues of wearable technologies and also offer the
added advantage of being able to be used within the
home environment avoiding logistical issues for post
stroke sufferers.
TBI Rehabilitation 