Virtual reality glove for home-based hand and arm stroke rehabilitation (vREHAB)

 Let's see how long your doctor has been incompetent in not bringing in recovery interventions. I'm sure your doctor has a much lower definition of competence. Which definition do stroke survivors prefer?

South Korean Tech Company Neofect Creates 'Raphael Smart Glove,' Designed To Help Stroke Victims Regain Arm And Hand Skills November 2015

NEOFECT Has Partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to Bring Technological Innovations to Stroke Survivors - Rapael Smart Glove December 2016

Virtual reality glove for home-based hand and arm stroke rehabilitation (vREHAB)

Ling Yan 1, Julie Muccini 1 2, Leonel Lugo 1, Michael Mlynash 1, Laura Michiels 3 4, Geert Verheyden 5, Leen Saenen 5, Benjamin Dirlikov 6, Arshad Ali 6, Julie Lanphere 7, Henry Huie 6 8, Robin Lemmens 3 4, Maarten G Lansberg 1

Affiliations 

• PMID: 40948414
 
• DOI: 10.1002/pmrj.70014

Abstract

Background: Upper extremity impairment is common after stroke. Virtual-reality rehabilitation systems may help restore hand and arm function.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of the Neofect Smart Glove and its effect on functional recovery.

Design: Multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-endpoint phase 2 trial consisting of a 12-week active treatment period followed by a 12-week follow-up period.

Study population: Patients with subacute and chronic stroke with upper extremity impairment.

Interventions: Patients assigned to the intervention group were instructed to use the Smart Glove for a minimum of one session per day for at least 5 days per week during the 12-week active treatment period, in addition to their usual care. Patients in the control group received their usual care only.

Outcomes: Feasibility was assessed by the total dose of rehabilitation. The change from baseline to week 12 on the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT) was the primary efficacy outcome and the change on the Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (UE-FMA) was secondary.

Statistics: Differences between treatment arms were compared using analysis of covariance in the overall population and, separately, in a post-hoc and exploratory analysis consisting of a subset of patients with mild to moderate upper extremity impairment (baseline JTHFT ≤500).

Results: During the 12-week active treatment period, there were no differences between the intervention (n = 18) and control (n = 24) groups in the change in the JTHFT (median -64 vs. -69 seconds, p = .88), the change in the UE-FMA (median 8 vs. 8 points, p = .61), or the total dose of rehabilitation (median 1434 vs. 584 minutes, p = .18). Among the subgroup of patients with mild to moderate symptoms (baseline JTHFT ≤500, n = 31), Smart Glove assignment was associated with a greater improvement on the JTHFT (median -72 vs. -40 seconds, p = .01) and a greater dose of rehabilitation (median 1739 vs. 510 minutes, p = .04) during the active treatment period, but there was no difference in the change in the UE-FMA (median 10 vs. 8 points, p = .15).

Conclusion: The addition of the Smart Glove to traditional rehabilitation therapy did not improve hand and arm function in the overall study population but may increase the dose of rehabilitation and improve hand and arm function for patients with mild to moderate upper extremity impairment.

© 2025 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Application of Novel Graphite Flex Sensors in Closed-Loop Angle Feedback on a Soft Robotic Glove for Stroke Rehabilitation

This will require protocol instructions for use. 

Many gloves out there. Which is the best? Your doctor better know the answer.

• FES-Robotic Glove (1)

• Gyroscopic glove (1)

• HERO Grip Glove (1)

• music glove (1)

• RAPAEL Smart Glove (5)

• VTS Glove (1)

• EsoGlove (1)

Application of Novel Graphite Flex Sensors in Closed-Loop Angle Feedback on a Soft Robotic Glove for Stroke Rehabilitation

 

Goh, Aaron Jing-Yuan BEng; Yap, Hong-Kai PhD; Ramachandran, Gokula Krishnan PhD; Yeow, Chen-Hua PhD

Author Information

Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics: August 31, 2020 - Volume Online First - Issue -

doi: 10.1097/JPO.0000000000000337

• Buy
• PAP

Abstract

Introduction 

Stroke survivors require physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs to restore their hand function so that they can carry out activities of daily living (ADLs) independently. Soft robotic gloves are designed to assist in these rehabilitation programs and reduce manpower costs, but their pressure-activated actuation mechanisms require closed-loop position feedback to allow for finer motor coordination for the hands, thereby improving hand rehabilitation for patients who had stroke. We present a novel design of graphite-based flex sensors that we implemented in a soft robotic glove to evaluate its performance in closed-loop metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint angle feedback.

Materials and Methods 

The graphite-based flex sensors are embedded into a sensor glove and characterized in terms of baseline stability and drift, over 20 continuous loading cycles per trial for five times. Curve-fitting using both linear and nonlinear equations was done to determine the relationship between resistance and MCP joint angle, using Vicon MX motion capture system to obtain 3D coordinates and joint angles, as well as separate Arduino circuitry to obtain signal voltage samples.

Pneumatic pressures are regulated using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control, with a safety factor (SF) of 1.2. Two control algorithms were developed to make use of angular feedback to control set point pressures: 1) Intent Recognition Mode makes use of a single MCP angle threshold at 50° to activate a maximum output pressure was set at 100 kPa (83.33 kPa after SF); and 2) Fixed Interval Assist Mode makes use of different MCP joint angle values (30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) to derive corresponding set point pressures set at 25, 50, 75, and 100 kPa (20.83, 41.67, 62.50, and 83.33 kPa after SF).

Results 

Nonlinear equations consistently provided a reasonably better fit as compared with the linear equation fit. However, in this work, the linear MCP joint angle models are preferred as a calibration method, because nonlinear equations are hard to implement in control algorithms in practice. PID control for Intent Recognition activates and deactivates at approximately 18% and 95% of each full flexion-extension exercise cycle progression, respectively. For Fixed Interval Assist Mode, thumb MCP joint angle feedback is less repeatable compared with that of the other fingers in the same experiment, possibly because of the difficulty in placement of the sensor at the thumb MCP joint, close proximity to other sensors, and physiological crosstalk between the fingers.

Conclusions 

This work has presented a novel integration and implementation of graphite-based flex sensors with a soft robotic glove for stroke rehabilitation. The relationship between the signal voltage and the MCP joint angle varies greatly with anatomical differences between each individual, and with sensor placement. However, based on the experimental results, a linear mapping calibration algorithm for the graphite-based flex sensors was implemented, which also complements its robustness for the potential application on stroke rehabilitation. The effectiveness of the calibration algorithm is also thus demonstrated via the Intent Recognition and Fixed Angle Assist control algorithms.

© 2020 by the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists.

Patients satisfied with Neofect’s rehab solution’: Stanford

Hard to tell if this actually works. Impossible to tell if the rehab goals were use of the glove or use of the hand in real life.  This is what that great stroke association president needs to do.  Get stroke research correctly designed and get protocols written that are usable and understood by patients, And the only way to accomplish that is to have a stroke association run and led by stroke survivors.
http://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=3164

Neofect said Wednesday that Stanford University has presented a research result on the patient satisfaction of its Rapael Smart Rehab Solution, at the 2018 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

The research, led by Professor Kara Flavin at Stanford Neuroscience Health Center, studied the possibility of home rehabilitation and patient satisfaction in an environment without a medical staff when using the company’s Raphael Smart Glove Home.

Raphael Smart Glove Home is a therapeutic medical device that allows patients with central nervous system disorders, such as stroke, to rehabilitate their fingers, wrists and lower arms through various rehabilitation games. The games stimulate both the patient's sense of sight and auditory senses simultaneously to help improve brain plasticity.

The device also provides personalized software that allows patients to do rehabilitation work at home, similar to that of exercises done at hospitals. Just as physicians and therapists offer training schedules tailored to the patient's condition and progression, the artificial intelligence-equipped on the machine can identify the patient's condition and provide personalized training and control game difficulty in real time.

The device also allows patients to fill out a questionnaire at the end of each training game and recommend a training game more suited to the individual's tendency.

About 55 percent of patients participating in the study achieved daily rehabilitation goals each week. Patients used the device for an average of five days a week, 27 minutes a day.

All patients stated that they were satisfied with the Rafael Smart Gloves. In detail, 89 percent of the patients showed satisfaction with overall rehabilitation training, and 67 percent replied that they had very satisfying results. The 67 percent of patients said that the device allowed them to conduct the rehabilitation training that they needed.

“The study, published at the Stanford University Hospital, has shown that patients can enjoy rehabilitation training at home through games,” Neofect CEO Ban Ho-young said. “Based on the clinical results, we were able to accelerate efforts to enter the U.S. market and lay the groundwork for future insurance coverage.”

The company plans to collaborate with Stanford University Hospital for further clinical research, as well as creating a more efficient home rehabilitation training environment by applying the fourth industrial revolution technology such as artificial intelligence, IoT, and Big Data, Ban added.

The results of the research were published in Neurology, one of the most renowned journals in the field of neurology.

corea022@docdocdoc.co.kr

<© Korea Biomedical Review, All rights reserved.>

New Robotic Glove Helps Paralyzed Patients Regain Movement

Your doctor should have multiple choices so you can choose the one with the best efficacy ratings.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171213005999/en/New-Robotic-Glove-Helps-Paralyzed-Patients-Regain

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NEOFECT, maker of gamified rehabilitation training solutions for patients with neurological, central nervous system, and musculoskeletal injuries such as stroke, is now helping patients with spinal cord injuries who have lost hand function to regain range of motion. The NeoMano, a new wearable robotic glove, will debut at CES and launch on Kickstarter in the early half of 2018, enabling people with paralysis to regain the ability to perform daily tasks and the independence that goes with it.

“Mindblowing Breakthroughs in Brain Health: Alzheimer’s, Autism, Depression, TBI, Stroke”

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Essentially an artificial hand, NeoMano is a soft, lightweight glove that moves wearers’ fingers so they can grip and manipulate objects like a glass of water or a door knob.
“For patients who have lost mobility in their hands due to spinal cord injuries, having to rely on a caregiver to perform basic tasks, such as turning the page of a book or brushing their teeth, can be difficult to adjust to,” said Scott Kim, co-founder and CEO of NEOFECT USA. “The NeoMano reduces that reliance and, like all of our solutions, gives patients hope, confidence, motivation, and independence.”
NEOFECT’s RAPAEL Smart Rehabilitation Solutions provide rehabilitation and training through games for patients recovering from medical episodes like stroke. Each game is scientifically designed to invigorate muscles and stimulate visual and auditory senses to reinforce neuroplasticity and accelerate recovery. AI built into the RAPAEL solutions suggests rehabilitation games based on patients’ preferences and progress, delivering customized, optimal therapy for patients.
The RAPAEL Smart Rehabilitation Solutions include:

• The RAPAEL Smart Pegboard, a digital version of traditional pegboard therapy that offers three board shapes and 30 engaging games to improve hand/eye coordination and upper extremity function. A 2018 CES Innovation Award winner, the platform uses light to signal where patients should insert the pegs, and delivers auditory and visual feedback on patients’ progress.
• The RAPAEL Smart Glove, a 2017 CES Innovation Award winner, is a wearable hand rehabilitation solution that connects via Bluetooth to a screen where patients participate in immersive, game-based training tasks. Patients can “pour the wine” or “squeeze the orange” and see their movements mirrored and measured on-screen.
• The RAPAEL Smart Board is an upper limb rehabilitation training device for patients recovering from stroke. It offers three types of game-based exercises—conditional exploration, point-to-point reaching, and shape drawing— to improve patients’ coordination and active range of motion in elbow and shoulder joints.
• The RAPAEL Smart Kids is a wearable hand rehabilitation solution designed for children ages 5-15 years old. Similar to the RAPAEL Smart Glove, Smart Kids offers a variety of fun games that mimic activities of daily life.
• The RAPAEL ComCog is android-based cognition rehabilitation software designed to promote relearning and retraining of damaged cognitive functions in dementia and stroke patients.

“Approximately 85 percent of stroke survivors give up rehabilitation due to cost constraints and distance to a treatment facility, so digital and at-home devices, like the RAPAEL Smart Rehabilitation Solutions, help overcome these obstacles and allow patients to continue training to regain their mobility,” said Kim. “Patients can purchase the devices to use in the convenience of their own home and still have access to physicians and therapists who can remotely monitor performance data to evaluate patients’ recovery and make adjustments to their therapy as needed.”
NEOFECT will showcase NeoMano and the RAPAEL Smart Rehabilitation Solutions at CES Unveiled on Sunday, Jan. 7, and at CES booth #43055 in the Sands Health & Wellness Marketplace.
In addition, Kim will participate in a Digital Health Summit panel about “Mindblowing Breakthroughs in Brain Health: Alzheimer’s, Autism, Depression, TBI, Stroke” on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. in the Venetian, Level 4, Lando room #4304.
About NEOFECT
Korean-American health tech startup NEOFECT was founded in 2010 to create an environment where stroke survivors, doctors, and therapists can objectively evaluate the results of patient rehabilitation. Fun, game-based rehabilitation exercises motivate patients while simultaneously providing actionable, quantifiable data to medical professionals.
NEOFECT uses the latest technological innovations to design affordable and easy-to-use devices for rehabilitation training available anytime, anywhere.
The NEOFECT press kit is available here: http://blog.neofect.com/2017/09/12/neofectpresskit/.

Contacts

Media Contacts
International
NEOFECT
Anna Choi, +82 70-8852-6516
anna.choi@NEOFECT.com
or
U.S.
Gregory FCA for NEOFECT
Katie Johnston, 610-228-2248
katiej@gregoryfca.com

NEOFECT Has Partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to Bring Technological Innovations to Stroke Survivors - Rapael Smart Glove

With 53 posts on gloves and 164 posts on hand and 46 posts on fingers your therapists will know which one is most likely to bring back you hand/finger function. But I highly doubt that, so you are on your own researching rehab tools that will help you recover. 

NEOFECT Has Partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to Bring Technological Innovations to Stroke Survivors - Rapael Smart Glove

The patients of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will be able to use NEOFECT's Rapael Smart Glove to improve the efficiency of their post-stroke rehabilitation program.

NEOFECT is an international health technology startup with offices in South Korea, the U.S., and Europe. The team has designed Rapael Smart Glove, a bio-feedback system to help patients with neurological and musculoskeletal injuries regain their hand mobility. The set includes a glove-like wearable device with embedded sensors and an artificial intelligence software. The main feature of the Rapael is the therapy program based on training games.

The learning schedule algorithm analyzes data transmitted from the glove's sensors via Bluetooth and offers different games. The software adjusts games' difficulty levels to keep participants interested and alert. Doctors can monitor the progress in a real time and design custom rehabilitation programs.

NEOFECT was named a CES 2017 Innovation Award Honoree for the Rapael Smart Glove. Now, it is available for use in hospitals and at home.

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) is the nation's leading provider of comprehensive physical medicine and rehabilitation care to patients from around the world. RIC has been designated the "No. 1 Rehabilitation Hospital in America" by U.S. News & World Report every year since 1991.

The organization has bought several Rapael Smart Gloves to incorporate them in their rehabilitation regimen.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) has a network of 150 hospitals around the country. After a rigid selection process, Rapael Smart Glove has been approved for use in their system. Now, any DVA patient can receive reimbursement for renting the device for at-home therapy. The rentals are available in the U.S. for $99 a month, representing significant savings compared to a conventional rehabilitation program.

One of the DVA patients, Michael E. from Anaheim, Calif., has described his experience of using Rapael: "At this point, I'm actually able to straighten up my fingers and close my fists. I can make my fingers dance. I can shake hands with confidence and pick up things using my right hand, which I thought I would never will. Rapael has put me over the top and gave me hope that my hand eventually will go back to normal. "

The new collaborations with reputable healthcare organizations will help NEOFECT to bring technological innovations to more stroke victims, giving them hope for healthy, gratifying future.

To learn more about NEOFECT, visit the company's website: www.neofect.com

Press Contact:
Anna Choi
anna.choi@NEOFECT.com
+82 70-8852-6516
US Office: 1499 Old Bayshore Hwy, Ste 243, Burlingame, CA 94010
For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/neofect-has-partnered-with-the-us-department-of-veterans-affairs-and-the-rehabilitation-institute-of-chicago-to-bring-technological-innovations-to-stroke-survivors-751141.htm

Media Relations Contact

Anna Choi
NEOFECT
Telephone: +82 70-8852-6516
Email: Click to Email Anna Choi
Web: http://www.neofect.com

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3175861#ixzz4SwkG9zS7

This Smart Glove Will Speed Up Your Stroke Recovery

Had to find pictures of this somewhere else.

http://www.examiner.com/article/this-smart-glove-will-speed-up-your-stroke-recovery
Aging global population creates a significant pressure on our society. The healthcare costs are growing annually, making quality service beyond the reach of the people who need it the most. Telehealth, virtual reality and other technological innovations can help to cut the costs and free up physicians to focus on complicated issues while offering an affordable alternative for those in need of routine health monitoring. They also allow more customized approach and faster recovery process for people who hadn’t had an access to quality medicine before.
Smart Technology For Stroke Victims
According to the World Heart Federation, 15 million people per year suffer a stroke. In the U.S., every 40 seconds someone is having a stroke. It is the leading cause of disability, costing the national economy $34 billion each year and a victim’s family - $17,081.
Two of the founders of Neofect, a technology startup with offices in Seoul, Korea and San-Francisco, CA, had experienced the hardship of caring for stroke patients in their families. They decided to use their engineering and business expertise to create a more efficient system to help stroke patients regain their mobility and get back their lives.
After several years of prototyping, testing and intensive consulting with the leading physicians, Rapael Smart Glove was born.
RAPAEL Smart Glove™ is a biofeedback system which includes a glove-shaped sensor device and a software app. The sensor data is transmitted via Bluetooth from the patient’s hand, and the software creates training augmented reality games. In each game, the wearer must successfully perform a task that is related to the specific movement in order to obtain high scores. In addition, the system’s artificial intelligence adjusts the difficulty level according to the participant’s performance. Therapists can design specific rehabilitation schedules by combining the games.
The Rapael system brings gamification into rehab exercise, helping motivate patients while the app provides valuable real time information to caregivers. The device has been successfully employed by a number of hospitals in South Korea since December of 2014, and in the US and Europe since December of 2015.
New Year – New Opportunities
This year, the effectiveness of virtual reality based exercises for the health-related quality of life for stroke survivors has been proven during the study conducted by The National Rehabilitation Center in Korea. The participants who combined traditional physical therapy with daily games experienced noticeable improvements in their mobility level not only during the rehabilitation process, but also for a significant amount of time after the exercises were completed.
It opens new opportunities for wider applications of the Rapael Smart Glove system. Later this year, Neofect will introduce a consumer version for use at home, which will be available for rent for $99 a month. The patients will be able to enjoy a comfort of their home and flexible time for exercising. It will be especially beneficial when combined with telehealth, because the doctor can monitor the results on their computer, and the stroke survivor will not have to spend time and money on routine office visits.
Just moving someone’s hand won't improve that person’s condition because a large part of rehab takes place in the brain. The creators of Rapael Smart Glove believe that the system will make the rehabilitation process faster and more effective, helping millions of people to return to normal life.

South Korean Tech Company Neofect Creates 'Raphael Smart Glove,' Designed To Help Stroke Victims Regain Arm And Hand Skills

I needed this for the wine pouring practice. But it seems to assume you still have at least some limited movement in your hand and fingers. It wouldn't work for me, no finger extension.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/south-korean-tech-company-neofect-creates-raphael-smart-glove-designed-help-stroke-361116
In a world where too much or too little sleep, stressful jobs, and balance issues can all increase our risk of stroke, where 795,000 people have strokes yearly in the U.S. alone, and where stroke costs an estimated $34 billion each year, there’s a need for a simple, effective form of rehabilitation. Enter Neofect, a South Korean tech company that created the Raphael Smart Glove to help with the rehabilitation process of stroke victims.
Incorporating motion-based games to help stroke victims relearn how to use their arm and hand, the Raphael Smart Glove came together thanks to a collaboration between rehabilitation experts and game designers. Neofect founder Ban Ho Young told Tech In Asia he estimates that 85 percent of stroke victims in South Korea don’t finish their rehabilitation programs, which is a concern, as the Journal of Stroke points out that 105,000 people experience a stroke every year there. Ban hopes gaming will help those people complete their rehab.

“Just moving someone’s hand in a certain way won’t improve that person’s condition because a large part of rehab takes place in the brain,” Ban said. “We see a lot of focus on the clinical side of things and not enough on the motivational.”
Using the smart glove, players choose games which correlate to the types of arm and hand movements they’d like to work on. In a game which has players pour a glass of wine, they are actually working on the movement of the palm facing upward and downward. In decorating cupcakes with icing, players are regaining the ability to extend and flex their fingers, or improve overall finger dexterity.
The glove can sense a player’s movements through sensors attached to the arm and hand. These sensors send the movement to computers that can tell how far you’ve moved individual fingers. Seeing as it is a wearable, it’s Bluetooth capable and has a companion app that uses the Raphael Smart Rehabilitation System to analyze and record data to show how much progress a player is making.
Neofect first offered the Raphael Smart Glove last December to South Korean hospitals and rehab centers for $10,000. Since they launched, Neofect has shipped 20 units overall to many institutions like Seoul National University Hospital, the Samsung Medical Center, and the National Rehabilitation Center.
As for taking the Raphael Smart Glove home with you, Neofect still needs to configure it for personal use, with the finished product being available to consumers early next year. As for when it will come to the U.S., Neofect doesn’t give a hard date, but has already begun its marketing campaign.