Core Technologies and Applications of Soft Robots in the Field of Medical Rehabilitation

Abstract

Conventional rehabilitation methods are plagued by drawbacks including low efficiency and insufficient customization, Soft robots featuring high flexibility and superior human-machine compatibility have emerged as a vital developmental trend in the domain of medical rehabilitation. This paper presents a review of soft robots adapted for medical and rehabilitation scenarios, with a comprehensive analysis from three dimensions: materials, actuation technologies, and applications. This paper introduces the performance characteristics of three mainstream flexible materials—silicone elastomers, polyurethanes, and hydrogels—and the core requirements for their medical applications, while also forecasting the development trends of novel materials oriented toward medical use. This review compares the working principles, characteristics, and clinical adaptability of pneumatic and hydraulic actuation, and explores the innovative directions of actuation technologies oriented toward rehabilitation scenarios. Introduces the application outcomes of soft robots in hand rehabilitation and multi-site collaborative rehabilitation, and analyzes the key design considerations for rehabilitation adaptation and personalized customization pathways in special populations. Studies have found that current technologies still face challenges including the need for optimization of material properties, shortcomings in actuation technologies, and insufficient scenario adaptability and customization, which restrict the process of clinical translation and industrialization.