ArticleJournal of robotic surgery2026
Global research hotspots and trends of upper limb rehabilitation robots based on web of science database (2005-2025).
Article in Journal of robotic surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
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.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41680392What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.