Deans' stroke musings: Using Robots For Home-Based Stroke Rehab

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.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Using Robots For Home-Based Stroke Rehab

Bad research, not understanding what actual rowing consists of.

Using Robots For Home-Based Stroke Rehab

Researchers from the University of Houston have invented a new robotic system that is controlled directly by the user’s brain. Scientists believe this system could one day be used to help patients recovering from strokes and other serious brain injuries. Researchers hope to make their design available for commercialization soon.
The system works by capturing specific electrical activity in the brain. This activity can then be translated into robotic movements. The system relies on algorithms that can decide the movement intent thanks to patterned brain activity. The original version of this system required users to wear a skull cap equipped with sensors, but researchers are working on a simpler and more streamlined design for home use.
The device is modeled loosely off of a basic rowing machine. The initial design will focus primarily on the upper limbs in terms of rehabilitation.(Then you don't understand that proper rowing technique is mostly leg and back muscles.If you are using arms you are doing it wrong.) Scientists believe it will promote plasticity in the brain and lead to the restoration of motor functions. Should the upper limb design prove a success, a system focused on the lower limbs will next be created. This could potentially help users to regain the ability to walk after a brain injury.
The team behind the design includes health care providers, and industry experts. Researchers hope to fast-track this technology and get it approved by the Federal Drug Administration as a viable and inexpensive treatment for stroke victims. The research was backed by a $750,000 grant courtesy of the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for Innovation Program.

“We want to break that wall between the lab and home. We want to build a system that can be used at home with FDA approval.”

Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH and co-director of the Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in Neurotechnology (BRAIN) Center, a NSF-supported Industry/University Collaborative Research Center based at UH and Arizona State University

While early results have been very positive, the system has a long way to go before it is ready for the FDA to approve it. All demonstrations have taken place in very controlled environmental settings. Additionally, the system has yet to be approved for use in patient’s homes or clinics.
Researchers intend to continue rigorously testing the new system, and plan to make it extremely user friendly so that it can be easily utilized in the home. Experts believe this technology could also be used in virtual reality games and an assortment of consumer electronics.