A medical robot that helps patients recover by playing mahjong has added fun for patients undergoing rehabilitation therapies in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

By making patients simulate real actions like drawing and discarding mahjong tiles, the robot helps patients train and improve their upper limbs and nervous system in applications related to upper limb movement disorders, post-stroke neurological rehabilitation, recovery of fine motor skills after surgery, and exercise intervention for cognitive disorders, among other situations, according to a Chengdu-based medical robot research institute that developed the robot.

Inspired by the mahjong culture in Sichuan, the institute created the robot to boost the patients' motivation for rehabilitation, a research fellow with the institute explained.

So far, the innovative product has been deployed at an elderly-care community and an incubation center for innovations in services for children and elderly care in Chengdu.