PolyU multimodal robot for post-stroke ankle-foot rehabilitation wins CES 2025 Innovation Award

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is dedicated to pursuing pioneering research in frontier areas and to embracing a strong culture of knowledge transfer. By translating research excellence into impactful solutions, the University takes the lead in making a positive impact for societal benefits. The first-of-its-kind multimodal robot for ankle-foot rehabilitation, developed by PolyU, has been recognised as an Honouree in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 Innovation Awards, reaffirming the effective impact of the University’s PolyImpact philosophy.

For the second consecutive year, PolyU has been honoured in the Accessibility & Aging Tech category — the only university in Hong Kong to receive the recognition of this consumer technology award. Following triumph in winning a Gold Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva in April, the “Mobile Ankle-foot Exoneuromusculoskeleton”, developed by a research team led by Dr Xiaoling HU, Associate Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been named as a CES Innovation Awards 2025 Honouree. The innovation has once again been recognised for its effectiveness in helping stroke patients with hemiplegia to improve the motor function of their lower limb and walking ability.

Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, said, “Health technology is vital to the well-being of humanity. This award highlights PolyU's commitment to excellence in research, translating into innovative solutions that bring sustainable benefits to the community. We are thrilled by the achievements of PolyU's young researchers on the global research and consumer technology stage. The University will continue to support them in leveraging their strengths and expanding impactful research initiatives.”

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Stroke patients need intensive and long-term rehabilitation training to improve their physical mobility and quality of life. Powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the “Mobile Ankle-foot Exoneuromusculoskeleton” is an innovative multimodal device that integrates the advantages of exoskeleton, soft pneumatic muscle, neuromuscular electrical stimulation and tactile sensory feedback in one system. The lightweight wearable design and a 9V rechargeable battery that can be used continuously for four hours, enables patients to pursue rehabilitation training anytime and anywhere. It can effectively correct post-stroke footdrop and foot-inversion and improve the gait and balance of stroke patients in self-help tele-rehabilitation.

The IoT technology aligned with artificial intelligence (AI) enables automatic onsite coaching feedback to a stroke patient on their training performance via a mobile app. This allows remote supervision by healthcare professionals and longitudinal management of rehabilitative progress for optimised services, providing a cost-effective and easy-to-access solution for stroke patients’ rehabilitation treatment.

Dr Xiaoling Hu said, “This technology and product can seamlessly integrate into routine rehabilitation services, enabling professionals to effectively assist more stroke patients. Through this flexible training approach, we hope to help stroke patients achieve more efficient rehabilitation progress and enhance their ability to perform daily activities, ultimately supporting their path towards greater independence in the long term.”

Dr Hualso co-founded the startup Thecon Technology (HK) Limited in 2021 and plans to commercialise the Mobile Ankle-foot Exoneuromusculoskeleton next year.

The annual CES is organised by the Consumer Technology Association and, as one of its representative awards, the CES Innovation Awards programme recognises and honours outstanding design and engineering in 33 consumer technology product categories. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including media professionals, designers and engineers, reviews submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetics, and design. The upcoming CES 2025 will be held in Las Vegas, the United States, from 7 to 10 January 2025. At the event, PolyU will showcase a range of innovative research projects in healthcare, smart cities, optometry, radiotherapy, AI and IoT sensing.