NEOFECT shows how a robotic glove can help stroke victims

This wouldn't help me at all since it seems to assume you already have some mobility and my spasticity prevents any hand opening. Getting the glove on would be impossible.  
I bet your stroke hospital hasn't researched and brought in a single hand rehabilitation device.
htt p://e27.co/startup-in-spotlight-neofect-shows-how-a-robotic-glove-can-help-stroke-victims-20150908/
Hoyoung Ban, CEO, NEOFECT talks to e27 about how robotic glove RAPAEL will give stroke victims a ray of hope as they go through therapy.


Meet NEOFECT, a South Korean tech company that wants to change the face of rehabilitative therapy for victims of stroke and other brain trauma.
Founded by Hoyoung Ban, who is also the CEO, NEOFECT is doing that with RAPAEL, a US$1,000 robotic glove that runs on Android and connects to the user’s phone and TV screens via Bluetooth. Users can don the glove on and manipulate virtual objects on display screens with games and other entertaining activities; this takes away the typical ‘boring’ aspects of rehabilitative programmes. Furthermore, patients will no longer need to head to the hospital for in-person visits; doctors can easily monitor the patients remotely and follow-up using data from the programme.

According to NEOFECT, hospitals in South Korea have already incorporated RAPAEL into their programmes. The company has also established an office in the US to meet the needs of patients across North America.
In order to find out more about the company and RAPAEL, we spoke to Ban.
Here are the edited excerpts…

Tell me more about NEOFECT.

Stroke has an immediate effect (work, mobility, medical costs), not just on the patients themselves but also on their loved ones. Our vision is to make a difference in society, by delivering hope of recovery through affordable rehabilitation and care.
Stroke patients experience long-term disability due to neuron damage, not muscle cells. You cannot revive the dead cells, but you can enhance brain plasticity by training the undamaged cells. Our smart rehab solution, RAPAEL, delivers the combination of hardware to aid the movements of the disabled body parts, and software to analyse and boost its effectiveness, which can greatly improve the rehab process.
There are many people who need the solution, but cannot afford rehab on account of insurance issues, cost, etc. In the US, stroke victims typically get only a few months of rehab after being discharged from the hospital. In reality, however, they need on-going rehab throughout their lifetime. So we want to provide them with an alternative solution, to be able to motivate themselves using a more affordable, at-home assistance.

How did you come up with the idea?

The idea had initially come from my friend and our CTO, Young Choi, who holds a PhD in Computer Science from University of Southern California. At first, he made a rehab robot but realised that it was not practical for personal and at-home use due to production cost, size, etc. However, his research showed that there clearly is a good market for affordable post-stroke care and rehab, and he wanted to pursue the research. I had experience setting up my own tech business both in Korea and the US, so he approached me to discuss the idea.

The idea of delivering an affordable solution to help stroke victims get back on to their feet was particularly appealing for me because of my personal experience — I’ve lost my father to a stroke attack and also two of my uncles were confined to the care of their families because they couldn’t afford rehabilitation care. So I know how difficult it is having to let your loved one lose the ability to go through their day-to-day activities just because you can’t afford the rehab costs.