Rehab Tech
Revolutionising stroke recovery: Vim Health robotic-assisted therapies
According to the National Library of Medicine, Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term disability today.
Stroke, characterised by the sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain, can have profound and often life-altering effects on individuals. Stroke survivors often face challenges in regaining their motor skills and independence.
However, the landscape of stroke rehabilitation has been transformed by integrating robotics into treatment plans.
In this article, Vim Health looks at how technology is helping stroke survivors as they embark on their journey towards recovery.
At the core of robotic-assisted therapy lies neuroplasticity, the brain's remarkable ability to rewire itself in response to injury or learning.
Stroke can damage neural pathways, leading to impaired motor functions. However, consistent, and targeted therapy stimulates the brain to forge new connections, allowing patients to regain lost skills.
Rehab technology capitalises on this principle by providing intensive, repetitive, and precise movements essential for enhancing neuroplasticity. No two stroke survivors are alike, and their rehabilitation needs can vary widely. This is where innovative technology truly shines.
For example, Gait training devices, such as the Lyra from THERAtrainer and the LiteGait, can be tailored to an individual's needs, adjusting factors such as range of motion, resistance, and intensity.
This personalised approach ensures that every individual receives the therapy that will be most effective for their unique circumstances, enhancing the chances of a successful recovery.
Traditional rehabilitation often faces challenges in providing the required intensity and consistency of therapy due to time, resources, and human endurance limitations.
However, the treatment offered at Vim Health differs.
With the use of robotics, Vim Health are able to give highly repetitive and consistent movements, which are crucial for retraining the brain. The ability to engage in a higher number of repetitions within a single session accelerates progress and improves motor skills, leading to faster recovery.
Rehabilitation is a journey that requires dedication and persistence. Equipment such as the Balo from THERAtrainer and the Tyrostation from Tyromotion incorporate real-time feedback mechanisms that guide patients through correct movement patterns.
This instant feedback helps individuals adjust, improving their technique and overall progress.
Furthermore, the interactive and engaging devices at Vim Health boost patient motivation, make rehabilitation sessions more enjoyable, and increase compliance with therapy plans.
Integrating sensors and data collection capabilities in robotic-assisted therapy empowers therapists with valuable insights. Objective measurements of patients' range of motion, strength, and coordination allow evidence-based decisionmaking.
Therapists can monitor progress and make necessary adjustments to treatment plans, ensuring patients are continually challenged appropriately.
Rehabilitation professionals play a pivotal role in guiding stroke survivors through their recovery. However, traditional manual therapy can be physically demanding for therapists, potentially limiting the quality and duration of sessions.
Allowing therapists to focus on guiding patients' progress - traditional hands-on therapy and robotics work in synergy to maximise impact in therapy sessions. Early mobilisation prevents complications such as muscle atrophy, joint contractures, and pressure sores in stroke survivors. Rehab robotics enables early engagement in therapy, enhancing the likelihood of a full recovery.
As patients regain mobility sooner, they have a greater chance of regaining their independence and overall quality of life. Robotic-assisted therapy is redefining the landscape of stroke recovery, offering a promising path toward regaining abilities.
The personalised treatment, intensity, real-time feedback, and objective measurement provided by these devices contribute to more efficient and effective rehabilitation.
While traditional therapies remain invaluable, integrating robotics creates a comprehensive approach that harnesses the power of technology to unlock the potential of the human brain's remarkable adaptability.
Vim Health is a neurorehabilitation centre offering roboticassisted therapy, including the latest innovative technology. For more informatin, visit www.vimhealth.co.uk.
Fourier Intelligence opens landmark centre
Global rehabtech leader Fourier Intelligence has marked the latest step in its expansion with the launch of its Malaysia Corporate Office in Malaysia.
Backed by Saudi Aramco’s Prosperity7 Venture, Fourier Intelligence has grown significantly since its inception in 2015 and successfully raised $62million in funding.
With over 2,000 installations and a market presence in 56 countries globally, the company focuses on rehabilitation technology that aims to empower patients and therapists using robotics and artificial intelligence.
With a diverse portfolio of more than 30 products and 200 turnkey solutions, Fourier Intelligence specialises in developing advanced robotic exoskeletons and virtual reality-based therapy platforms to address needs for upper, lower, balance and movement impairments.
Coupled with gamified therapy, these innovations enable healthcare providers to deliver personalised and effective rehabilitation programs, improving the patient’s overall recovery outcomes and quality of life.
With an existing prominent presence in Malaysia through multiple largescale projects with Sunway Medical Centre, Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (PERKESO) and WQ Park, Fourier Intelligence aims to serve as a direct waypoint for the domestic medical industry to obtain the latest advancements in rehabilitation technology.
The new centre will also act as a strategic hub to support Fourier Intelligence's business operations and further strengthen its commitment to providing cuttingedge rehabilitation and assistive technology solutions to the South East Asian market.
“We are thrilled to launch our new Malaysia Corporate Office here, as it allows us to serve our regional stakeholders better,” says Zen Koh, co-founder and Global CEO of Fourier Intelligence.
“In general, the rehabilitation tech industry in Asia is still in the early adoption phase, and we hope to elevate this through our offerings in this region. This aligns with our mission to empower therapists and patients through advanced robotics and AI solutions.
“We look forward to driving the Malaysian and overall South East Asian markets forward and anticipate facilitating stronger collaborations with local partners, healthcare professionals, and research institutions to drive innovation and enhance patient care.”
“Fourier Intelligence is driven by knowledge sharing and believes that collaboration is key to advancing the rehabilitation industry, as it enables industry partners to forge closer ties and share knowledge for the betterment of the sector.
“We hope that with our new Malaysia Corporate Office in place, we can see a huge growth in rehabilitation technology and wider adoption of intelligent rehabilitation."
Fourier Intelligence also actively participates in industry events and conferences to facilitate advancements in the rehabilitation industry, such as the upcoming RehabWeek 2023, which will be held in Asia for the first time, and furthers their commitment to driving innovation and progress in the rehabilitation industry.
Rehabilitation is not a place: It is a process
How GripAble can support outpatient stroke rehabilitation
Recently there has been a shift from inpatient to outpatient rehabilitation for stroke patients. Through more active and engaged patients, cost effective practices, and improved outcomes; outpatient therapy has the ability to provide opportunity and comfort for patients, providers, family members and caregivers alike.
Why outpatient rehabilitation?
There are several reasons why individuals are opting for earlier discharge and outpatient therapy:
Community integration:
Outpatient therapy allows for earlier discharge of stroke rehabilitation patients into the community. Evidence suggests that supporting community integration will keep patients more active and engaged throughout their rehabilitation journey. In addition, the influence of family or caregiver support during intensive therapy can result in improved functional outcomes compared to conventional therapy alone.
Maintain gains:
Stroke rehabilitation outpatient therapy has been shown to help to maintain gains made in inpatient stroke rehabilitation and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Individuals are able to put into practice the skills they developed during inpatient therapy and repeat them in real life scenarios with the support of family and caregivers.
Fnancially friendly:
Patients are often kept in expensive inpatient stroke rehabilitation beds longer than is necessary due to a lack of outpatient options, which causes backlogs and issues with flow. Outpatient stroke rehabilitation is relatively inexpensive when compared to the resources required for patients to stay in an inpatient facility.
Shifting stroke recovery to an outpatient setting can help refocus resources, reducing the burden on overstretched care professionals.
Additionally, research validates that patients are more likely to benefit from therapy in their homes versus an inpatient setting.
Bernhardt et al. found that “on a stroke unit during a therapeutic day, stroke patients were shown to spend their time largely inactive. More than 50% of patients’ time was spent in bed, 28% was spent sitting out of bed and only 13% of time was spent in therapeutic activities. Patients were alone for 60% of the time which is contrary to the evidence that increased activity and environmental stimulation is important to neurological recovery.”
How GripAble can support outpatient rehabilitation
When promoting outpatient rehabilitation options, some challenges can occur. Patient adherence and realistic, yet impactful therapy activities are crucial to consider.
This raises several questions: >> What activities provide the intensity required for neuroplastic changes? >> How do we keep patients engaged? >> How can we ensure quality of movement?
With these questions in mind, GripAble offers a clear solution. GripAble is a gamified rehabilitation platform, offering both assessment and training of the upper limb. It delivers gamified therapy activities, digital assessment, and data-driven insights into a patient’s function.
The handheld GripAble device connects to an app on a tablet, where the user can be assessed and play a range of engaging games and activities that focus on training the different aspects of grip, hand and wrist movement. Through these fun and engaging activities, GripAble helps individuals to stay motivated with their rehabilitation.
A prime candidate to receive GripAble’s unique rehabilitation includes individuals with arm weakness after a stroke who are able and motivated to follow regimes independently or with the support of a caregiver. Therapists can set daily goals and assess an individual’s activity against these goals. Users get real-time feedback on their performance and can save and send their activity reports to their therapist.
GripAble was designed with outpatient remote rehabilitation at its heart by enabling ongoing hand and arm therapy at home, proving that rehabilitation is not a place — it is a process.
GripAble is available for direct purchase in the United Kingdom, and is distributed by Medline in the United States.
For more information on how GripAble can be used in your therapy practice please contact hello@gripable.co
What is Freezing of Gait and
can NexStride help?
Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common motor disorder in Parkinson’s
disease (PD). It is characterised by sudden, unanticipated interruptions in gait, lasting from seconds to minutes, in which people feel that their feet are stuck to the floor and unable to move forward despite trying hard.
FOG episodes can occur in other neurological diseases too. The phenomenon is particularly debilitating and often requires physical support from another person to get unstuck and start walking again.
Treatment strategies developed for managing gait disorders and
freezing include medications, deep brain stimulation (DBS), physical
therapy interventions and external visual cues.
The classic presentation of gait freezing is sudden and dramatic stops and starts while walking, but some patients describe that they feel like their feet are glued to the floor with an inability to take the next step.
These episodes often occur when crossing doorways, turning around, or approaching an obstacle. The severity is very variable from person to person with some experiencing only occasional episodes and rarely, some individuals will experience almost continuous FOG preventing useful ambulation.
Freezing of Gait obviously impairs mobility but also increases the
risk of, and causes, falls and significantly reduces quality of life.
Gait disorders, including freezing, affect 60–80% of PD patients, often
presenting in the later stages of the disease.
Several factors can cause or worsen the freezing of gait, including fatigue, distraction, anxiety, stress, visual clutter, transitions from one walking surface to another, and narrow spaces. Patients who have freezing of gait also tend to experience more severe
postural instability and other motor symptoms of the disease.
Studies have shown that more advanced PD patients who show primarily a freezing of gait phenotype tend to have less benefit from dopaminergic medication and have more potential side effects, including motor fluctuations.
Thus, there is a growing clinical focus on novel therapeutic interventions, not only for FOG but working on the significant non- dopaminergic pathology that exists in the primary progressive freezing gait syndrome.
Physical therapy, particularly a program that involves balance and gait training, is an essential non- pharmacological intervention to improve gait freezing and associated motor symptoms.
Standardised gait questionnaires and structured physical activity
programmes have been used to assess patients' motor and cognitive function, providing a baseline to evaluate this and guide clinical intervention.
Visual cues are known to be an effective method for improving
freezing episodes.
The presence of sensory feedback may be useful for overcoming a "motor block" and promoting movement.
Various external visual cues, such as laser lines, stripes on the floor, or
footstep rhythms, can be an effective way to overcome freezing, providing the patient with a predictable sequence to follow.
Additionally, tasks such as mental imaging and rhythmic audio cues can
also effectively trigger gait initiation in PD patients.
Anatomical Concepts offers a neat product called NexStride that uses cueing technology to help overcome the freezing of gait.
The NexStride product combines both visual and rhythmic audio cues,
and makes them adjustable and adaptable to different types of walking
aids.
The device can be attached discreetly to any walking cane or frame with a laser line adjusted to a distance that suits the individual user. A metronome can also provide an audio cue with the volume control at your fingertips.
Fundamentally by using the visual and/or auditory cueing you are able to bypass the blocked neural pathway that is causing the freezing of gait.
The NexStride can effectively trigger gait initiation in many persons who
have difficulty with FOG.
You can find out more or purchase the NexStride at:
https://www.anatomicalconcepts.com/nexstride or contact them for more information.
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