| The present Doctoral Thesis has been developed in the working environment of the Laboratory of Electronics and Bioengineering of the University of Valladolid, which focuses on several lines of research dedicated to assist disabled people through the use of Rehabilitation Technologies (RT). The author's research work has been focused specifically on the development of different human-machine interfaces, very innovative and adapted to disability, whose main aim is to facilitate handicapped people's interaction with their own environment. In order to provide practical functionality, the Thesis' author has participated substantially in the development of different devices and systems that incorporate his own technical innovations. These works are aimed to get help in order to improve personal autonomy, besides personal rehabilitation trainers for people with severe disabilities.;Furthermore, after a detailed analysis of the research group activity and taking into account the author's experience, a methodology that would provide adequate guides to perform the generic work to implement RT systems has been developed. The goal is to provide the engineer with the necessary tools and the right strategy to systematically address the varied activity needed in this field. This methodology, which focuses on the needs of the patient, is based on the interdisciplinary teams' collaboration in order to obtain functional systems and technical devices that allow the achievement of the best results. The proposed methodology has been proved suitable in the practical implementation of a selection of RT developments.;Once a comprehensive analysis of the status of this technique has been carried out, assessing at the same time the different solutions in the scientific community, the implemented innovative interfaces have been divided into two different groups, depending on their function: afferent and efferent interfaces. On the one hand, the afferent ones allow, by voluntary signals, the user communication with the environment or the control of adapted systems with diverse purposes. On the other hand, the efferent interfaces will let the patient to receive, by any type of stimulation, environmental information or to substitute signals in order to replace the lost function.;In addition, a set of innovative technical aid systems, based on these interfaces, have been developed. These systems allow the disabled users to improve in terms of quality of life and independence. This final equipment includes a neuromuscular training platform and a set of systems: adapted mobility, assistive standing for paraplegics, surveillance and telepresence, augmentative communication and sensorial substitution.;All implemented prototypes have been tested in population samples of patients and control subjects. Moreover, there has been a great cooperation with researchers from some national reference centres, such as the National Paraplegics Hospital of Toledo. The obtained results reveal the correct operation of all of them and their suitability for different applications: diagnosis assistance, muscle training, control of external devices or just entertainment tasks. To sum up, all deployed systems may represent an increase in improving the quality of life and the activities that potential users would perform.;The devices and results of this investigation work have been presented and discussed in a set of publications and scientific events: journal articles, book chapters, conference papers and invited lectures.;KEYWORDS: Rehabilitation Technologies, human-machine interfaces, technical aids. |
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