Stroke Rehab Times examines the latest technologies and devices in stroke rehabilitation and treatment
Stroke survivors frequently require rehabilitation to restore lost mobility, strengthen muscles and redevelop speech, often turning to approaches such as physical therapy.
In more recent years, however, technology has played a huge part in helping patients recover faster – and these technologies are only set to grow.
From wearable smart devices, VR, assistive systems and even applications for smartphones and tablets, these devices can not only improve memory and cognitive function, but also ease and even repair physical damage, too.
Here, we examine the latest technologies to be aware of in 2022.
The MicroTransponder Vivistim Paired VNS System (Vivistim System)
Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2021, this drug-free rehabilitation technology is one of the latest to hit the market.
The Vivistim System, which can be used to treat moderate to severe upper extremity motor deficits, is designed to be used alongside rehabilitation exercises in patients recovering from long-lasting symptoms of chronic ischemic stroke.
By simulating the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain down to the abdomen, the device can improve patients’ ability to move their aims and hands.
To allow the treatment to be tailored to each user’s needs, clinicians can use the software and a wireless transmitter to input the appropriate settings, including amplitude, frequency and pulse width, to allow the rehabilitation to be tailored to each user’s needs.
Portable MRI solutions
According to new data published in Nature Communications, portable MRI solutions can provide doctors with critical information they need to determine the proper care path for patients presenting with stroke symptoms.
This analysis is the “first to validate the appearance and clinical implications of a brain hemorrhage using a portable MRI device”, according to the researchers, who concluded that portable MRI is a safe and feasible imaging solution that provides valuable information when evaluating potential ICHS.
Zeit Medical brain-monitoring wearable
We can all be aware of and on the lookout for signs of stroke, and those who are high risk generally are – but what happens when it strikes at a time where we can’t be vigilant?
Thousands of people suffer ‘wake-up strokes’, which occur while we’re sleeping and can only be identified hours after they’ve taken place. To combat this, Zeit Medical has developed a brain-monitoring wearable that could help raise the alarm and get people to hospital fast enough to mitigate the stroke’s damage, potentially saving lives whether they are asleep or awake when it happens.
The soft, wearable headband has a compact EEG built in, which monitors the relevant signals from the brain. Data is then sent to a smartphone app for analysis by a machine, and if anything is detected, an alarm is sent to the user and specified caregivers. It can also be set to automatically call for an ambulance.
The GripAble device
Studies have suggested that repetitive exercise is vital for improving arm weakness in stroke patients – and a new device from researchers at Imperial College London and clinicians at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust could make it easier for those with arm disabilities to do more physical training.
The GripAble device consists of a lightweight electronic handgrip that interacts wirelessly with a standard PC tablet to enable the user to play arm-training games.
To use it, patients squeeze, turn or lift the handgrip, which then vibrates in response to their performance. The device uses novel mechanism, which can detect the tiny flicker of movements of severely paralysed patients, and channels them into controlling a computer game.
In a clinical trial of 30 patients, researchers found the device enabled an average of 104 upper limbs (UL repetitions per day, whereas conventional therapy achieved 15 UL repetitions in the same timeframe.
EvoWalk
Health startup Evolution Devices has created an AI-based platform called EvoWalk, which stimulates nerves to help people with muscle impairments – brought on by conditions such as stroke – walk again.
The platform blends remote physical therapy with connected smart stimulation to help patients rehabilitate. It’s common for those who’ve experienced neurological conditions such as stroke to drag their affected foot, but the EvoWalk uses machine learning to bypass the nerve and lift the foot at just the right time to help users avoid falls and walk more freely.
The end goal of the device is to help patients reclaim their lost instinctual movement.
