Post-stroke rehabilitation is a critical challenge in the recovery process for individuals affected by stroke, aiming to restore motor functions and enhance overall quality of life. Advances in medicine and technology have led to the development of new therapeutic approaches that integrate physical and cognitive treatments with innovative assistive devices

In this context, the WP-SEMG project—launched in 2015—also plays a significant role. Following an initial phase of technical and clinical validation on healthy volunteers, the project progressed to data acquisition and analysis involving individuals undergoing post-stroke rehabilitation.
The prototype, which has been continuously enhanced over the years, now enables the simultaneous acquisition of signals from 256 electrodes, a substantial improvement over the previous model, which supported only 64.

Vanessa Arteaga, a PhD student at the Institute of Systems and Applied Electronics (ISEA), is working on data acquisition and implementing advanced electromyographic signal processing techniques under the supervision of Prof. Daniele Allegri, Director of ISEA, and Prof. Dr. med. Alain Kälin, Director of the Neurocentro della Svizzera Italiana, in collaboration with physicians from the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale and the Hildebrand Clinic.

"With our device and algorithms, we plan to conduct regular tests on patients to monitor changes in motor unit parameters. This will help us better understand how the neuromuscular system adapts during the different phases of rehabilitation," explains Eng. Vanessa Arteaga. "The interdisciplinary nature of this project is guaranteed by the fruitful collaboration between engineers and physicians. Indeed, the common goal is to support and facilitate the recovery of patients' motor skills through the optimization of rehabilitation therapies."