rehabilitation

Stroke patient gets by with a little help from a bot

Turning to robots for speech and physical therapy may not be everyone's idea of high-quality, personalized health care. But for stroke patients -- particularly those in rural, isolated areas -- therapists can be difficult and expensive to come by, and rehabilitation can be elusive.

So a speech language pathologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is studying the interactions of stroke patients with the uBot-5, a child-size humanoid robot with arms and a computer screen through which therapists can interact with people. And for at least one stroke patient, the bot appears to be doing a stand-up job.… Read more

Amputee to climb building's 103 flights with mind-controlled leg

This Sunday, amputee Zak Vawter will stand at the foot of Chicago's Willis Tower and focus his thoughts on climbing. If all goes according to plan, his bionic leg will listen to those thoughts and he'll ascend 103 flights without a hitch.

Vawter, who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in 2009, will be wearing a cutting-edge, thought-controlled prosthetic that's about to make a very public debut. He'll head up the 1,451-foot skyscraper (also known as Sears Tower) as part of SkyRise Chicago, an indoor stair-climbing fund-raising event for the Rehabilitation Institute of … Read more

Musical glove could improve mobility after spinal cord injury

A wireless musical glove developed at Georgia Tech not only teaches users to play songs on the piano, but may also improve the sensation and mobility of the hands of people who have suffered spinal cord injuries, researchers report.

The Mobile Music Touch (MMT) device, which works alongside a computer and a keyboard, improved rehabilitation even in patients who had sustained the injury more than a year earlier -- a point at which improvements tend to be minimal at best.… Read more

Neuroscientists develop video game for stroke recovery

After a stroke, it is often possible -- with months of therapy and determination -- for the brain to relearn how to control a weakened limb. Finding the resources (therapist, finances, time) can be the bigger hurdle.

Enter Circus Challenge, the first in a coming suite of action video games designed by Newcastle University stroke experts and the new company Limbs Alive to provide extra in-home therapy.

"Eighty percent of patients do not regain full recovery of arm and hand function and this really limits their independence and ability to return to work," pediatric neuroscience professor Janet Eyre … Read more

Gaming glove may help stroke patients recover

In addition to shaking hands with a robot to regain motor skills, stroke patients may be able to retrain their brains and recover hand motion by playing video games with a sensor glove developed at McGill University.

Mechanical engineering students under Rosaire Mongrain produced the Biomedical Sensor Glove in cooperation with Montreal start-up Jintronix.

The prototype has inertial measurement units to track the movement of the wrist, palm, and index finger. Patients play a video game involving a virtual hand that manipulates objects.

Associated software produces 3D models and lets patients monitor their progress at home. The system also sends data to treating physicians so they can keep tabs on the recovery process.

"The glove could take on many forms, and even rings alone could be used," Mongrain says. "The technology could also benefit people learning surgery and instruments such as piano."

Similar commercial gloves exist, but cost tens of thousands of dollars. By using cheaper sensors, the Biomedical Sensor Glove would cost about $1,000 to produce. Jintronix has submitted the idea to Grand Challenges Canada, an international development NPO, for funding.

Yet another good reason to keep playing video games. … Read more

'RiceWrist' retrains motor skills after spinal-cord injury

Almost exactly a year ago, in April 2010, professional motocross rider Randy Childers sustained serious injuries after a crash in the last race of the day at Cowboy Badlands in West Beaumont, Texas.

He suffered broken ribs and a fractured wrist, but most seriously a crushed vertebra in his neck (C3) that required him to be airlifted to Houston, where surgeons inserted an artificial vertebra and fused two others together (C4 and C5) during a marathon operation that lasted 12 hours.

Today, the 24-year-old is the star in a single-patient trial of Rice University's RiceWrist robot, a wearable exoskeleton that mimics the joints from his shoulder to his hand.… Read more

Study: Video games aid post-stroke motor skills

Researchers around the world have been studying whether interactive video games can improve motor skills since, well, the advent of video games. (For instance, this study on the effects of video games on hand-eye coordination in the elderly was published in 1985.)

But a team out of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto finds that after analyzing 12 studies looking at the effects of these games on upper arm strength and mobility, stroke patients who game are up to five times as likely to improve arm motor function than those undergoing standard physical therapy.

The meta analysis, published in the April issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, suggests that video games on systems such as the Wii and PlayStation help the brains of stroke victims recover by improving neuroplasticity--which is the brain's ability to create new nerve cell connections.

"Recovery of motor skill depends on neurological recovery, adaptation, and learning new strategies," said Gustavo Saposnik, the lead author of the study and the director of the Stroke Outcomes Research Unit at the hospital, in a news release. "Virtual-reality systems drive neuroplasticity and lead to benefits in motor function improvement after stroke."

Seven of the dozen studies monitored patient improvement before and after playing the games, and found a 14.7 percent improvement in patients' grip strength and a 20 percent improvement in standard task performance.

Because most of the studies had small sample sizes, Saposnik says the next step is to conduct a far larger trial; he hopes to randomly assign some 140 patients to either play virtual reality games or undergo standard therapy and dig even further into the results.… Read more

Brain 'pacemaker': Smarter Parkinson's care?

The idea of an electronic device implanted in the brain tends to evoke spooky scenarios a la "Total Recall." But if a team of international scientists has its way, brain implants will one day be viewed as a viable and commonplace therapy for conditions like Parkinson's disease, depression, and even age-related loss of brain elasticity.

The scientists are working on a biomimetic chip called the Rehabilitation Nano Chip (ReNaChip) that could be used to wire computer applications and sensors to the brain, building off of current procedures to make those approaches more precise.

The chip itself wouldn't be implanted in the brain; instead, it would be hooked up to tiny electrodes that provide precisely controlled stimulation to diseased areas.

An existing procedure called deep brain stimulation (DBS) is already used to treat neurological symptoms, most commonly Parkinson's effects such as tremor, rigidity, stiffness, slowed movement, and walking problems.

It involves a surgically implanted, battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator that delivers electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement, blocking the abnormal nerve signals that cause Parkinson's symptoms.

However, the ReNaChip team says over-stimulation of the brain is a serious concern in current procedures, as it can cause patients to lose some therapeutic benefits over time. That's where their work comes in. … Read more

Japanese create levitating chair for elderly

Researchers at Japan's Kobe Gakuin University are developing a levitating chair that hovers on a small cushion of air.

The floating chair is being developed for elderly Japanese by Tsunesuke Furuta and others at the university's rehabilitation department.

The prototype, inspired by arcade air hockey, seems to consist of an air compressor that shoots jets of air out of many openings beneath a sports-style car seat on a platform.

The seat can be swapped for a zabuton , a Japanese floor cushion. When kneeling on it, users can move around by dragging themselves across the floor with their hands. … Read more

'Xtensor' claims CrackBerry rehabilitation

We recognize that "BlackBerry Thumb" can be an all-too-real affliction but, seriously, if you need something like this therapeutic contraption you've really got to let it go. Literally.

The "Xtensor" claims to be "the first product on the market to perform with true bio-mechanically correctness and treats the direct cause of this pain." That may be so, but to us it looks like a bowling glove combined with those elastic bands that pitchers use for to exercise their rotator cuffs.

In any case, the makers of the Xtensor say it can help rehabilitate … Read more