Deans' stroke musings: Towards a modified consumer haptic device for robotic-assisted fine-motor repetitive motion training

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Towards a modified consumer haptic device for robotic-assisted fine-motor repetitive motion training

Lets get this fine motor training into a therapy protocol. Ask your therapist to use this on you.
http://www.naric.com/research/rehab/record.cfm?search=2&type=all&criteria=J62295&phrase=no&rec=117011
NARIC Accession Number: J62295. What's this?
ISSN: 1748-3107.
Author(s): Palsbo, Susan E.; Marr, Deborah; Streng, Taylor; Bay, Brian K.; Norblad, A. Walter.
Publication Year: 2011.
Number of Pages: 6.
Abstract: Study evaluated the feasibility, utility, and safety of using haptic technology to provide robotic-assisted repetitive motion fine-motor training. A haptic computer/user interface was modified by adding a pantograph to hold a pen and to increase the haptic workspace. Custom software moves a pen attached to the device through prescribed three-dimensional (3D) stroke sequences to create two-dimensional glyphs. The pen’s position is recorded in 3D coordinates. Twenty-one healthy child volunteers were taught a standard handwriting curriculum in a group setting, two times per week for 45 to 60 minutes each session over 8 weeks. The curriculum was supplemented by the device under the supervision of occupational therapy students. Outcomes were measured using the Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting (ETCH), and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of visual-motor integration. Results showed significant gains were made in word legibility on the near point copying task. There was no significant improvement for letter legibility. One participant with illegible handwriting improved significantly on 8 of 14 ETCH measures. The children found the device engaging, but made several recommendations to redesign the pantograph and scribing movements. A consumer haptic device can be modified for robotic-assisted repetitive motion training for children. The device is affordable, portable, engaging, and safe for healthy volunteers.
Descriptor Terms: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, FEASIBILITY STUDIES, MOTOR SKILLS, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, REHABILITATION TECHNOLOGY, ROBOTICS, SAFETY, WRITING SKILLS.