Descriptive Ontology for Home-Based Smart Rehabilitation Environments for Motor and Cognitive Therapy in Patients with Neurological Disorders

Home-based rehabilitation provides accessible motor and cognitive therapy for individuals with neurological conditions outside clinical settings. Although traditional rehabilitation environments, such as hospitals and clinical centers, follow established design standards, the transition of rehabilitation to home settings needs to be analyzed. Currently, home environments for rehabilitation lack structured guidelines for integrating rehabilitation and assistive technologies. This study addresses this gap by analyzing existing literature to define the key elements of home rehabilitation environments. By proposing an ontological framework, validated through brainstorming sessions with medical experts, the study categorizes agents, norms, and material conditions that are involved in home-based rehabilitation. This ontology, alongside the involvement of stakeholders – such as clinicians, engineers and designers – could serve as a foundation for standardizing home rehabilitation environment design and the integrating new technologies into home settings.