Re-defining wearable robots: a multidisciplinary approach towards a unified terminology.
Stefano Massardi, Kristín Briem, Jan F Veneman and 2 others
PMID 37936173WHAT IT FOUND
78 wearable-robot stakeholders rated 34 terms mostly positive, but rehabilitation, dynamic and human-robot interaction needed clearer definitions.
Key findings
01Participants said misunderstandings were common when discussing wearable robots and could be solved with clearer definitions.
02Most definitions were rated as agreed, applicable and useful.
03Survey participants proposed a Physiotherapist term and criticized rehabilitation as too broad and not necessarily involving robots or movement.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This is a terminology survey, not a clinical trial, so it does not show that any wearable robot improves patient outcomes. The vocabulary covers 34 terms, and the authors say many initially considered terms still lack agreed definitions. The survey had 78 complete responses, and each respondent rated up to 10 terms, so individual definitions received only 15 to 27 answers. Most respondents were academic and engineering or healthcare focused, and the authors could not analyse whether disagreement came from specific disciplines. Patient end-users were not included, and the authors call the vocabulary preliminary. Some definitions were criticized because the focus groups were unbalanced across fields.
Declared interests
The paper names Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas as funder. No other conflicts of interest are reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that wearable robots improve rehabilitation. This paper reports stakeholder feedback on definitions, not patient outcomes, and the authors state the vocabulary is preliminary.