Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients with a Bioengineered “Brain–Computer Interface with Exoskeleton” System

This research is pretty useless with the Barthel scales being subjective.  The Rankin scale. has no useful discrimination at all. You should be using scans that show dead and damaged areas. There is no known objective way to measure spasticity.  And our fucking failures of stroke associations are doing nothing to assure valid research is being run and conclusions make sense.

This research fails in many categories.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11055-016-0270-5

• S. V. Kotov 
• , L. G. Turbina
• , P. D. Bobrov
• , A. A. Frolov
• , O. G. Pavlova
• , M. E. Kurganskaya
• , E. V. Biryukova

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Objective. To study the potential for use of a bioengineered system consisting of an electroencephalograph, a personal computer running a program for the synchronous data transmission, recognition, and classification of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, and formation of control commands in real time, combined with a hand exoskeleton (a bioengineered “brain–computer interface (BCI) with exoskeleton” system) for the motor rehabilitation of patients with post stroke upper limb paresis.  

Materials and methods. Brain–computer interfaces have potential for use in neurorehabilitation. A total of five patients with post stroke upper limb paresis received neurorehabilitation courses consisting of 8–10 sessions. All the patients had large foci of post stroke changes of cortical-subcortical locations as demonstrated by MRI scans. 

Results. Improvements in neurological status on the NIHSS were seen after courses of sessions, with significant increases in the volume and strength of movements in the paralyzed hand, improvements in the coordination of its movements, and minor decreases in the level of spasticity. There was an increase in daily activity on the Barthel index, mainly due to improvement in fine motor function. Levels of disability showed clear changes on the modified Rankin scale.  

Conclusions. Use of the “brain–computer interface (BCI) with exoskeleton” system in the rehabilitation of patients with post stroke paresis of the hand gave positive results, pointing to the need to continue these studies.