Finally, someone who gets the idea that maybe sensation may help motor control.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110405/Tactile-devices-generate-realistic-sense-of-touch-and-sensation-for-stroke-victims.aspx
Devices which could be used to rehabilitate the arms and hands of people who have experienced a stroke have been developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
In a paper to be presented this week (6 April) at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Assisted Living Conference, Dr Geoff Merrett from ECS-Electronics and Computer Science, will describe the design and evaluation of three technologies which could help people who are affected by stroke to regain movement in their hand and arm.
Dr Merrett worked with Dr Sara Demain from the University's Faculty of Health Sciences and Dr Cheryl Metcalf who works across Health Sciences and ECS, to develop three 'tactile' devices which generate a realistic "sense of touch" and sensation which mimic those involved in everyday activities.
"Most stroke rehabilitation systems ignore the role of sensation and they only allow people repetitive movement," said Dr Demain. "Our aim is to develop technology which provides people with a sense of holding something or of feeling something, like, for example, holding a hot cup of tea, and we want to integrate this with improving motor function."
Three tactile devices were developed and tested on patients who had had a stroke and on healthy participants. The devices were: a 'vibration' tactile device, which users felt provided a good indication of touch but did not really feel as if they were holding anything; a 'motor-driven squeezer' device, which users said felt like they were holding something, a bit like catching a ball; and a 'shape memory alloy' device which has thermal properties and creates a sensation like picking up a cup of tea.
"We now have a number of technologies, which we can use to develop sensation," said Dr Merrett.
"This technology can be used on its own as a stand-alone system to help with sensory rehabilitation or it could be used alongside existing health technologies such as rehabilitation robots or gaming technologies which help patient rehabilitation," Dr Metcalf concluded.
The academics' paper: Design and Qualitative Evaluation of Tactile Devices for Stroke Rehabilitation will be presented at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Assisted Living Conference.
More information: The academics' paper: Design and Qualitative Evaluation of Tactile Devices for Stroke Rehabilitation will be presented at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Assisted Living Conference. A copy of the paper can be accessed at: http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/.
Here is the full paper
http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/21802/1/merrett.pdf
It contains some pictures of what these look like.
This idea is referred to in this book.
Sensory re-education of the hand after stroke by Yekeutiel, Margaret published in 2000. God it only took 11 years to translate to practice.
I kept telling my OT that I would do a lot better if I could feel. My senses are coming back slowly and when I have a moment of sensation oh how wonderful everything falls into place. Then the sensation is gone and back I go to needing help. He would look at me weird but it's true. Same for walking, having sensation or the aura of being aware and feeling increases how far and long I can walk.
ReplyDeleteSara, You might want to read this and start training your therapists.
ReplyDeleteIf you find that your sense of touch is not up to pre-stroke levels this document will give you a good idea of what needs to be done.
[url]http://myweb.ncku.edu.tw/~fzshaw/ ASA.pdf[/url]
researchers found that cycles of heat and cold significantly enhanced the
sensory and motor function in the arms and hands of stroke survivors after a few weeks of therapy.
Dean
Thanks Dean. Unfortunately, I am unable to open the pdf, link says not found.
ReplyDeleteI use different textures at home and that's helped but yes when we used the fluid therapy, combined with heat, I see an improvement. Then, I wash my hands with cold water. Some of my senses on right side are amplified from tickling to painful sensation but at least there is something going on. I go to my neurologist on Thursday.
Thank you for your website. Even if I don't understand medical stuff I've learned alot on this journey.
Sara, not sure what happened to the link but this is the article title and what journal it is in.
ReplyDeleteChen J.-C., Shaw F.-Z.* (2006) Recent progress in physical therapy of the upper-limb rehabilitation after stroke: emphasis on thermal stimulation. J. Cardiovas. Nurs., 21: 469-473.
This is a Taiwanese site so reading chinese would be helpful.
I couldn't find the article online, but the protocol looked like 15 minutes warm, 15 minutes cold.
Sara, here is the abstract, couldn't get at the full article.
ReplyDeletePoor recovery of arm function after stroke can often have a negative impact on the patient and his/her family. These patients often need assistance from the society and may need to rely on government resources. Numerous therapeutic treatments are currently available for stroke rehabilitation. Traditional rehabilitation strategies (Bobath, Brunnstrom, proprioception neuromuscular facilitation, and motor relearning) have been used for many years. However, few of these interventions have been tested in clinical trials and are thus practiced on an empirical basis. Various evidence-based therapies (electric stimulation, electromyographic biofeedback, constraint-induced movement therapy, robotic aided system, and virtual reality) have been added to classic rehabilitation approaches and seem to improve function. Recently, we demonstrated that a novel intervention, thermal stimulation, facilitated upper-limb functional recovery after acute stroke. In this review, we describe detailed thermal stimulation procedures and outcomes in stroke patients. We found that thermal stimulation in combination with other physiotherapies or chemotherapies was of great benefit to stroke patients. Development of a better rehabilitation paradigm that maximizes rapid recovery of arm function is a priority to help stroke patients and society.
I had one lady, from Colombia, describe to me how stroke people are treated in her country. Amongst an assortment of herbal medications she described how a certain prickly plant(fruit) was patted gently against the sensory affected areas in circles or some pattern along with the use of heat and cold. She said it is particularly effective on drooping faces.
ReplyDeleteShe claims good muscle improvement following sensory improvement. Not sure what I think about this but I would have been very willing to try patting myself with fruit in the early days.
This is a nice article.Thanks for sharing your thoughts.Thank you.
ReplyDelete