Rehabilitation

This April, researchers from Montreal's McGill University announced the development of their prototype Biomedical Sensor Glove. Stroke victims who have lost the use of their hand are intended the wear the glove, then use it at home to play custom video games on an attached computer. Not only do those games help them regain the use of their hand, but the computer also sends data regarding their gaming performance on to their physician, so they can track the patient's progress remotely. Well, it seems that Spanish researchers have now developed a similar system for the rehabilitation of paralyzed arms, called ArmAssist.  Read More

Having undergone some physical therapy myself, I can confirm that even though keeping to a prescribed exercise and treatment regimen helps the injury heal faster, the daunting prospect of self-administered discomfort has led me to ignore the advice of my practitioner. A team at Microsoft's research wing has developed a working prototype of a system that may help to encourage physical injury sufferers to do their exercises by giving them a clearer understanding of what's going on. A therapist would use the device to project a series of graphics of underlying bone, muscle tissue, tendons or nerves directly onto the body of a patient to help explain the nature of the injury and prescribe effective treatment. The device can also take photos during a consultation, which can be subsequently reviewed or printed out as a memory aid for the patient.  Read More

When the use of a hand is lost due to a stroke, it’s important to get that paralyzed hand moving again – this allows the brain and the body to “relearn” how to use it. A new approach to this problem has emerged in recent years with the development of powered devices like the Amadeo or the Rehabilitation Glove that enable patients to exercise passively until they recover sufficiently to start moving on their own. Now four students from Montreal’s McGill University have created a prototype stroke recovery glove that would cost relatively little to produce, and that patients can use at home through a video game interface.  Read More

Although it might seem counter-intuitive, making it more difficult for older people to walk will actually improve their mobility. Walking on unpredictable and uneven surfaces can improve balance and help reduce risk of falling. Working on this principle, researchers at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde in collaboration with Israeli medical products company Step of Mind Ltd. (SoM) have developed an innovative training shoe based on this principle called Re-Step that incorporates four motors on the bottom of each shoe to make it more difficult for the wearer to walk, therefore helping in rehabilitation from movement disorders such as those that result from stroke or brain trauma.  Read More

A technique helping stroke victims regain their mobility has won the 2010 Danish Research Result of the Year award and is now attracting attention from investors keen to see the research move from the lab and into rehabilitation centers. Professor Ole Kaeseler Andersen of the Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction at Aalborg University, Denmark, has developed method that uses the nervous system's natural reflex reaction to pain to aid stroke patient rehabilitation.  Read More