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<p>For patients with hand and upper-limb functional impairments, rehabilitation training functions as an essential adjunct to surgical and pharmacological interventions for restoring motor function. Its clinical utility, however, is constrained by low efficiency, largely due to repetitive, labor-intensive tasks and the limited capacity of a single therapist to supervise multiple patients simultaneously, which intensifies the burden on healthcare resources. In recent years, upper-limb rehabilitation robots have become an established modality within rehabilitation programs and have demonstrated favorable outcomes. Scholarly output in this domain has expanded markedly, yet Bibliometric Analysis addressing research progress in upper-limb rehabilitation robotics remain limited. This study provides a comprehensive overview of research trends in upper-limb rehabilitation robots and identifies key thematic areas and emerging developments through bibliometric analysis. Publications (articles and reviews) on upper-limb rehabilitation robots from January 1, 2005, to December 1, 2025 (a 20-year span) were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database (<a href="https://www.web">https://www.web</a> of science.com, developed by the Institute for Scientific Information, USA). Extracted data encompassed countries, institutions, publication years, authors, journals, average citation rates per article, H-index, titles, keywords, and cited references, which were analyzed in detail. Bibliometric tools, including VOSviewer, Citespace, and Bibliometrix, were applied to identify research trajectories in upper-limb rehabilitation robotics. A total of 3504 documents were obtained, comprising 3163 articles and 341 reviews. The United States produced the highest publication volume, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies emerged as the most productive institution, and Dukelow, Sean P. ranked as the most prolific author. The Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation published the largest number of articles and achieved the highest citation count. High-frequency keywords included “stroke,” “rehabilitation,” “recovery,” “robotics,” “design,” “therapy,” “arm,” “upper extremity,” and “exoskeleton.” Keyword and reference burst analyses indicated that future research will likely converge on soft robotics, exoskeleton technologies, and stroke rehabilitation.</p>

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Global research hotspots and trends of upper limb rehabilitation robots based on web of science database (2005–2025)

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月13日

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  • Xin Deng,
  • Xin Huang,
  • Yang Wen,
  • Jiaping Lan,
  • Lei Li,
  • Yang Liu

摘要

For patients with hand and upper-limb functional impairments, rehabilitation training functions as an essential adjunct to surgical and pharmacological interventions for restoring motor function. Its clinical utility, however, is constrained by low efficiency, largely due to repetitive, labor-intensive tasks and the limited capacity of a single therapist to supervise multiple patients simultaneously, which intensifies the burden on healthcare resources. In recent years, upper-limb rehabilitation robots have become an established modality within rehabilitation programs and have demonstrated favorable outcomes. Scholarly output in this domain has expanded markedly, yet Bibliometric Analysis addressing research progress in upper-limb rehabilitation robotics remain limited. This study provides a comprehensive overview of research trends in upper-limb rehabilitation robots and identifies key thematic areas and emerging developments through bibliometric analysis. Publications (articles and reviews) on upper-limb rehabilitation robots from January 1, 2005, to December 1, 2025 (a 20-year span) were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database (https://www.web of science.com, developed by the Institute for Scientific Information, USA). Extracted data encompassed countries, institutions, publication years, authors, journals, average citation rates per article, H-index, titles, keywords, and cited references, which were analyzed in detail. Bibliometric tools, including VOSviewer, Citespace, and Bibliometrix, were applied to identify research trajectories in upper-limb rehabilitation robotics. A total of 3504 documents were obtained, comprising 3163 articles and 341 reviews. The United States produced the highest publication volume, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies emerged as the most productive institution, and Dukelow, Sean P. ranked as the most prolific author. The Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation published the largest number of articles and achieved the highest citation count. High-frequency keywords included “stroke,” “rehabilitation,” “recovery,” “robotics,” “design,” “therapy,” “arm,” “upper extremity,” and “exoskeleton.” Keyword and reference burst analyses indicated that future research will likely converge on soft robotics, exoskeleton technologies, and stroke rehabilitation.