Robotics lab helps stroke patients with recoveryDecember 05, 2007Robotics engineers at Rice University are teaming with doctors from Memorial Hermann|TIRR to develop a PC-based system for physical rehabilitation. "It can take months of physical therapy for stroke patients to regain the use of their limbs," said system architect Marcia O'Malley, director of Rice's Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Laboratory (MAHI). "We hope to refine our system to allow patients to recover faster and to allow therapists to more precisely monitor patients' recovery." O'Malley and Memorial Hermann|TIRR doctors this fall began a two-year study of a prototype rehabilitation system developed at MAHI that uses a joystick to help patients with eye-to-hand coordination. The study involved 16 patients. In one exercise, the patients use the joystick to move an object from one part of the computer screen to another. Like all the systems in O'Malley's lab, the rehab program uses force-feedback technology called "haptics" that allow people to "feel" their environment while they are in virtual reality.
The term "haptic" refers to the perception of touch, and in the prototype rehab system, the joystick is outfitted with motors that push the stick to resist moves in the wrong direction. As a result, the patient's hands are guided along the right path. By repeating the exercise over and over, patients can gradually learn to control the objects on the screen in a smooth, precise way. "We're interested in measuring how smooth the movements are, compared to what might be optimal," said O'Malley, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science. "The computer can precisely measure how a patient responds to every single exercise. This lets the doctors and physical therapists know exactly what their patient most needs to work on. This precise, measurable feedback provides a great advantage over the subjective evaluations currently in use." O'Malley said researchers have been using computer-controlled robots for physical rehabilitation since the early 1990s, but so far the technology has been too expensive to use on a large scale. She thinks this will change within the next few years. O'Malley said patients' enthusiasm for the technology is one reason it's likely to catch on. "The patients who get a chance to try this tend to get very excited," said O'Malley, who has previously worked with doctors and patients from the Department of Veterans Affairs. "I've been inspired to see how hard patients are willing to work to regain their mobility, and our technology really plays to that strength. The machine never gets tired. It allows them to work as long and as hard as they want." Rice University | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Stroke Patients Current Events and Stroke Patients News Articles Treatment window expanded Patients can still benefit up to 4.5 hours after a stroke if a drug that dis-solves blood clots in the brain is administered. Thus far, three hours had been considered the useful limit for administering thrombolytic drugs. New hope for stroke patients If a stroke patient doesn't get treatment within approximately the first three hours of symptoms, there's not much doctors can do to limit damage to the brain. Telemedicine leads to better stroke treatment decisions Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center say that their first-of-its-kind study of a telemedicine program which transports stroke specialists via computer desktop or even laptop to the patient's bedside, using highly sophisticated video, audio and Internet technology, could have an immediate and profound impact on the treatment of stroke patients throughout the world. Depression after stroke: a neglected problem People who have had a stroke and the people who are close to them need more support in order to manage the consequences of stroke. Leukemia drug could save lives of stroke patients The drug tPA is the most effective treatment currently available for stroke patients, but its safety is limited to use within the first three hours following the onset of symptoms. Stroke study reveals key target for improving treatment and suggests that Gleevec may help For over a decade, the drug called tPA has proven its worth as the most effective emergency treatment for the most common kind of stroke. But its promise is blemished by two facts: tPA can cause dangerous bleeding in the brain, and its brain-saving power fades fast after the third hour of a stroke. Old antibiotic may find new life as a stroke treatment Minocycline appears to reduce stroke damage in multiple ways - inhibiting white blood cells and enzymes that, at least acutely, can destroy brain tissue and blood vessels, respectively, says Dr. David Hess, chair of the Department of Neurology in the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine. Study finds that obstructive sleep apnea causes earlier death in stroke patients Stroke victims who have obstructive sleep apnea die sooner than stroke victims who do not have sleep apnea or who have central sleep apnea, according to Swedish researchers. New 3-D ultrasound could improve stroke diagnosis, care Using 3-D ultrasound technology they designed, Duke University bioengineers can compensate for the thickness and unevenness of the skull to see in real-time the arteries within the brain that most often clog up and cause strokes. Stopping a receptor called 'nogo' boosts the synapses New findings about a protein called the nogo receptor are offering fresh ways to think about keeping the brain sharp. More Stroke Patients Current Events and Stroke Patients News Articles |
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