Immanuel is 4th U.S. hospital to earn stroke certification; docs call procedure a game-changer

SO FUCKING WHAT? 'Procedures' NOT RESULTS Do stroke hospitals think we are that fucking stupid that we don't notice that this tells us nothing about the quality of their stroke department? 

Immanuel is 4th U.S. hospital to earn stroke certification; docs call procedure a game-changer 

Immanuel Medical Center has become the fourth hospital in the country to earn a new certification indicating that it meets rigorous standards for treating stroke patients using a procedure that targets clots blocking large vessels in the brain.

The procedure, called a mechanical endovascular thrombectomy, involves threading a catheter through an artery in the groin to the brain to snare the clot and draw it out.

Doctors have called it a game-changer when it comes to treating such blockages.

Dr. Vishal Jani, an interventional neurologist at Immanuel, which houses the CHI Health Neurological Institute, said strokes caused by clots represent up to 90 percent of strokes.

“This holds the center to the highest standard,” Jani said.

The designation as a thrombectomy-capable stroke center recognizes that the hospital has the infrastructure and protocols in place to perform the procedure.(So fucking what? You don't tell us your results, so every patient could die and you would still be recognized?)

To be eligible to apply for the certification, hospitals have to meet strict guidelines, including performing the procedure on a minimum of 15 patients in the past year or 30 in the past two years. They also must demonstrate the ability to perform the procedure 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The physicians who perform the procedure must meet the highest standard of training.

The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, began offering the new certification Jan. 1.

Nebraska in 2017 established a statewide stroke treatment system that designated hospitals according to their ability to provide various elements of stroke treatment. The system also established protocols to help emergency responders evaluate patients and select the hospital that can provide the appropriate level of care.

The Nebraska Medical Center in November 2017 earned designation as a comprehensive stroke center. The nation’s highest designation for stroke care, a comprehensive center must be able to handle both clot-caused and hemorrhagic strokes at any time.

Creating Recovery After Stroke

You will have to read the 48 pages on your own since your stroke department has no person assigned to summarize and implement useful research. The response of your stroke department to research like this tells you how fucking incompetent they are.

[PDF] Creating Recovery After Stroke

3R wins first prize at MIT health hackathon for post-stroke care

What  was your stroke department results? Did they even know there was a competition?
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/mit-health-hackathon-3r-winner

3R, a post-stroke recovery and rehabilitation platform, has won the inaugural Irish MIT health hackathon, picking up the grand prize of €3,000 to put towards its research.
The MIT health hackathon – called MIT Hacking Medicine – took place over the weekend (16-18 September) as a pre-cursor to the larger BioPharma Ambition 2016 (21-22 September), which will showcase the latest research and discuss how Ireland plans to facilitate the health sector.
Organised in partnership with DCU Alpha and BioPharmaChem Ireland, the hackathon saw 100 people across nine teams duke it out to see who could come up with future health concepts that could have a dramatic outcome on the lives of patients.

3R, a post-stroke recovery and rehabilitation platform that uses a user-friendly remote device application to guide, assist and monitor the rehabilitation of stroke victims in their own homes, was announced as the overall winner.
Having won the grand prize of €3,000, the 3R team has said it intends to meet with stakeholders – including patient groups – to see how the concept could be rolled out in the near future.
Finishing in second place, with a prize of €2,000, was Safe-Hands, a smart hand sanitising system developed by Mingle Connect.
Finally, in third place, was Sun, Sea & Surgery, a pan European bed shortage solution.

‘Each came with great ideas’

Throughout the hackathon, the participants worked with 37 mentors from a variety of sectors, including biopharma, health, technology and software, among others.
Commenting at the event, MIT Hacking Medicine co-director, Khalil Ramadi, said: “We were delighted to bring the MIT Hacking Medicine concept to Ireland for the first time, and have to commend all of the teams that participated.
“Each came with great ideas and worked all weekend to deliver really impressive concepts and pitches.”
The director of BioPharmaChem Ireland, Matt Moran, said: “The biopharma industry in Ireland is all about innovation, with over 25,000 talented people within the industry in Ireland, delivering innovative solutions to patients both here and globally.
“We are delighted to have MIT Hacking Medicine and DCU Alpha work with us on this event to demonstrate innovation in this sector at its best, with the ultimate goal to improve patients’ lives.”
The other participants in the hackathon included:

• IWasteNot – a cost-effective medical waste solution
• Team Capture – a system that alerts a doctor when a patient has a rare disease
• iBed – a bed management algorithm to alert when a free bed is available
• DiaSens – a non-invasive monitoring device for diabetics
• MediTrack – a program to track details and accounts for a patient’s medical issues
• FitsLikea

Hand robotics

No clue if this is an actual product or a graduate students work.But your stroke department should know and compare it to these 51 posts on gloves, these 7 on grasping, these 154 on hand, these 46 on fingers.  Your stroke department should already have evaluated all these so it should be easy to determine if this new one is better. But that has no chance in hell of having occurred. You're screwed until everything in stroke is destroyed and survivors run things.
https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNaturePage/videos/894920293973563/

Teslasuit does full-body haptic feedback for Virtual Reality

This would seem to be an excellent way to get an enriched environment delivered to your whole body.  I bet it will never make it to your stroke department for stroke rehab purposes. It just makes too much fucking sense and could eliminate some of your therapists jobs.
 https://www.engadget.com/2016/01/06/teslasuit-haptic-vr/
It uses electrical stimulation to imitate anything from an explosion to in-game weather.

Smartphone-powered headsets like Google Cardboard and Samsung's Gear VR have been worthy stop-gaps for introducing the medium of modern virtual reality. But this year, more resource-intensive VR experiences, games especially, will finally make it into consumers' homes. Pre-orders for the final Oculus Rift opened today, and competitors like Playstation VR and HTC's Vive aren't too far behind. For start-up Tesla Studios, though, pulling on a headset and grabbing a controller just doesn't seem immersive enough. That's why it's developing the Teslasuit, a full-body haptic feedback ensemble for putting you well and truly in the game.

VR promises to be something of a next step in entertainment, so it's not surprising various companies are jumping on the bandwagon early. Many are looking into ways of injecting a bit more "reality" into proceedings, whether it be through controllers or feedback devices. An omnidirectional treadmill or rotating chair might make for a more natural control scheme, for example; similarly, haptic feedback devices could make the virtual world tangible in a way a simple gamepad vibration can't. The Teslasuit is as ambitious as any of these projects, and more than most.

Video at link.

ableX Stroke Recovery

In case you want to attempt to influence the thick skulls at your stroke hospital for rehab machines. I have no idea of the efficacy of these. Your stroke department should be able to find out and tell you if this is the best out there. But they will have no fucking clue. You once again are completely on your own.  They are in use at Boroondara, Australia in case your doctor wants to contact the hospital there. He or she won't but that will just prove the total incompetence of your stroke rehab department.
http://www.im-able.com/system/

Cognitive Benefits of Social Dancing and Walking in Old Age: The Dancing Mind Randomized Controlled Trial

I want every single cognitive benefit possible post stroke. What the hell is your stroke department doing to implement this? I bet nothing because your stroke department doesn't read research at all. You're screwed and your stroke department doesn't care, they aren't paid for results.
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00026/full?

Dafna Merom¹*, Anne Grunseit², Ranmalee Eramudugolla³, Barbara Jefferis⁴, Jade Mcneill⁵ and Kaarin J. Anstey³

• ¹School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
• ²Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
• ³Centre for Research on Aging, Health and Wellbeing, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
• ⁴Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK
• ⁵Early Start Research Institute, School of Education, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Background: A physically active lifestyle has the potential to prevent cognitive decline and dementia, yet the optimal type of physical activity/exercise remains unclear. Dance is of special interest as it complex sensorimotor rhythmic activity with additional cognitive, social, and affective dimensions.

Objectives: To determine whether dance benefits executive function more than walking, an activity that is simple and functional.

Methods: Two-arm randomized controlled trial among community-dwelling older adults. The intervention group received 1 h of ballroom dancing twice weekly over 8 months (~69 sessions) in local community dance studios. The control group received a combination of a home walking program with a pedometer and optional biweekly group-based walking in local community park to facilitate socialization.

Main outcomes: Executive function tests: processing speed and task shift by the Trail Making Tests, response inhibition by the Stroop Color-Word Test, working memory by the Digit Span Backwards test, immediate and delayed verbal recall by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and visuospatial recall by the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVST).

Results: One hundred and fifteen adults (mean 69.5 years, SD 6.4) completed baseline and delayed baseline (3 weeks apart) before being randomized to either dance (n = 60) or walking (n = 55). Of those randomized, 79 (68%) completed the follow-up measurements (32 weeks from baseline). In the dance group only, “non-completers” had significantly lower baseline scores on all executive function tests than those who completed the full program. Intention-to-treat analyses showed no group effect. In a random effects model including participants who completed all measurements, adjusted for baseline score and covariates (age, education, estimated verbal intelligence, and community), a between-group effect in favor of dance was noted only for BVST total learning (Cohen’s D Effect size 0.29, p = 0.07) and delayed recall (Cohen’s D Effect size = 0.34, p = 0.06).

Conclusion: The superior potential of dance over walking on executive functions of cognitively healthy and active older adults was not supported. Dance improved one of the cognitive domains (spatial memory) important for learning dance. Controlled trials targeting inactive older adults and of a higher dose may produce stronger effects, particularly for novice dancers.

Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ACTRN12613000782730).

walking bike for stroke rehabilitation

Massive amounts of therapy available in one intervention.
Balance.
Walking.
Upper limb extension.
Hand grasping.
Sensation - Wind blowing over skin.
So why doesn't your stroke department have this? 

walking bike for stroke rehabilitation

Immediate arm stroke rehab - What Would Dean Do?

Since I am not medically trained, do not do anything about this, especially telling your doctor you want to follow this. But ask your doctor EXACTLY how her/his protocol for arm recovery stacks up against this idea.
Upper arm recovery is dismally low
This would seem to be a likely case of  'Use it or lose it'.
People recover walking because they attempt it a lot..
In order to use the affected arm a lot you need to force use to transport your body to where you want to go. The current wheelchairs require either two usable arms and hands to efficiently move that wheelchair. Or two usable legs/feet. The solution is lever powered wheelchairs. You are going to have to contact your stroke department NOW to maybe get them in stock in 5-10 years. If you don't have enough hand grip strength you could velcro your hand to the lever.

Rice University students build custom chair for teen with arthrogryposis - rowing motion

Rowing wheelchair

It is up to YOU to get this done in your stroke department, the status quo will never change without YOU questioning why arm recovery is so fucking low.

LBB Rehab Group Demonstrates Two New stroke Technologies

I'm sure your stroke department already is investigating all these other arm and hand rehab technologies and the walking assist technologies and comparing them to these new ones.
42 posts on arm.
131 posts on upper limb.
24 on FES.
Your doctor can put together the intersection of those three sets.
No, I'm not that stupid, your stroke department is doing nothing of the kind. And I'm 100% positive your stroke association is doing nothing at all. Ask them what the best arm rehab protocol is. You'll get crickets.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lbb-rehab-group-demonstrates-two-new-technologies-300262007.html
Life Beyond Barriers Rehabilitation Group (LBBRG) displayed two life-impacting technologies at a recent demonstration at their Rockford, Michigan center.

The first was MyndMove, a non-invasive functional electrical stimulation (FES) therapy for individuals with arm and hand paralysis due to a stroke, spinal cord or other neurological injury.  In attendance was Dr. Milos Popovich, inventor of MyndMove, and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute's Associate Scientific Director and Chair in Spinal Cord Injury Research & University of Toronto Professor.

MyndMove is manufactured by MyndTec Inc., a privately held medical technology company located in Mississauga, Ontario.

"MyndMove improves the lives of individuals with paralysis such as stroke and spinal cord injury by stimulating the muscles in the upper extremities.  We have selected Life Beyond Barriers Rehabilitation Group to help us run our United States clinical trials," said Dr. Milos Popovich.  "LBBRG President Richard Widgren sits on the MyndMove board and is helping us here in the United States."

The second demonstrated technology was REX, the standing exercise tool with the ability to ambulate.

Developed in New Zealand, REX is a hands-free robotic mobility device for rehabilitation. Designed for people with limited mobility, REX is completely self-supporting and can adjust quickly to each user. REX lifts patients from a sitting position into a robot-supported standing position, allowing them to take part in a set of supported walking and stretching exercises designed by specialist physiotherapists.

Wheelchair users are at risk of developing numerous medical complications from extended periods of sitting. By enabling them to spend more time standing, walking and receiving therapy, REX may offer significant health benefits.

"The clients at LBBRG in both Rockford and Traverse City will get to test MyndMove for the next nine months and REX for the next 30 days," said Sandy Burns, PT, MSPT and director, LBBRG.  "Our goal is to create innovative options for our clients.  These technologies will provide hope that individuals with disabilities should have with all opportunities, therefore the highest quality of life."

About Life Beyond Barriers Rehabilitation Group 
With locations in Rockford and Traverse City, Michigan, Life Beyond Barriers Rehabilitation Group is an intensive, non-traditional therapy program that addresses the nervous system below the diagnosed level of injury.   The website is http://www.lbbrehab.com.  

MEDIA CONTACT:   Colleen Robar, Robar PR, 313-207-5960, crobar@robarpr.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/363094

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/363095

SOURCE Life Beyond Barriers Rehabilitation Group

Related Links

http://www.lbbrehab.com

The RELEAS Splint: For Some Stroke Patients, It Can Mean a New Lease on Life

How any of these previous hand/finger gloves are being tested in your stroke department?
I have 135 posts on the hand, 42 posts on glove, and  37 posts on fingers.
What exactly is your doctor and therapist doing to bring back your hand functions? 

1.  How about the PossessedHand?

2.  Or maybe the Mozart glove?

3.  Or the Music glove?  

4.  Or the Gloreha(R) hand rehabilitation glove?

5.  Vibrating Glove May Enhance Sense of Touch

6.   EnableTalk, a Synchronous Interpreter for Sign Language

7.   Wireless Electronic Glove Helps Improve Motor Skills of Spinal Cord Injury Victims

8.   Ghost Smart Sensor Glove Coaches Blind Athletes (video)

9.   Rome doctors use robotic glove, videogame on stroke patients

10.  Cable Actuated Exomusculature Glove for Stroke Rehabilitation and Assistance

11.   Robo-Gloves to Aid Stroke Victims

12.   Mechanical glove to aid stroke victims

13.   Stroke rehab glove combines mental practice and muscle stimulation to improve hand function

14.   Mending the brain with a mechanical glove

15.   Robotic Glove Helps Stroke Survivors Regain Movement

16.    This Smart Glove Speeds Rehabilitation Of Stroke Patients 

17.    This Smart Glove Will Speed Up Your Stroke Recovery

The latest one here:

The RELEAS Splint: For Some Stroke Patients, It Can Mean a New Lease on Life

Suppose you needed help to pull up your pants and fasten your belt.
For most of us, those two tasks come easily. We don’t even think about them. For many stroke patients, however, being able to accomplish those two activities without help would represent a remarkable improvement in the quality of life—a level of independence they never thought they might attain.
Thanks to a glove-like splint invented by Joseph Padova, OTR/L, an occupational therapist at MossRehab, who specializes in stroke rehabilitation and has experience as a clinical specialist for upper limb amputee training—and a self-professed tinkerer—many stroke patients are able to do those two things and more, such as tie their shoelaces, open jars, fold laundry, wrap presents or hold a wallet open to remove cash or credit cards.
Nathaniel H. Mayer, MD, director of the Motor Control Analysis Laboratory and co-director of the Neuro-Orthopaedic Program at MossRehab, identified the need for an unobtrusive device that would allow stroke patients to do those very things. Padova took it from there.
“We needed a prosthetic for stroke patients,” says Padova, who ran a maintenance program for stroke patients at MossRehab. “A lot of our stroke patients could move their hands and have an active grip force, but they couldn’t open their hands (due to muscle weakness or spasticity, a condition resulting in muscle stiffness, tightness or lack of control). We were wondering if we could make a splint that could help them open their hands in functional ways. We ended up creating a splint that allowed patients to use their grip strength to close the hand and hold things they would commonly use during daily activities. The splint had enough opening force so that they could open their hand and let go of things.”
Padova created the prototype splint out of cheap plastic splinting materials, heated in water and molded to the patient’s hand. Remember the pants and belt example? When Padova tested the splint on a patient, that was the very first victory. “He said, ‘I was able to pull up my pants and put my belt on for the first time in 15 years.” (The patient liked the prototype so much, he tried to keep it.)
However, the prototype splint wasn’t durable enough. “We needed a material that would last,” Padova says.
That material came from an unexpected source.
“My brother-in-law was into fishing,” Padova recalls. “One time, we were out fishing and I saw someone fishing with a really thin rod. The fish were jumping all over the place and the rod wasn’t breaking. I asked him, ‘Can I see this?’ I ended up buying one.”
At first, Padova and his son tested a piece of the rod by crafting it into a slingshot. “About two weeks later,” he says, “I’m thinking, this might be a good outrigger for the splint.” (The outrigger is the spring-like part of the splint that helps the patient open the first two fingers of the affected hand. Elastic in the glove holds the thumb back.)
Padova cut and added one piece of fishing rod to a prototype splint. He found it much more than strong enough to do the job. He showed a newly modified splint to Dr. Arthur Gershkoff, clinical director of the Stroke and Neurological Diseases Program at MossRehab, who recommended that he apply for an Albert Einstein Society grant. The Albert Einstein society awards grants to harnesses “the power of Einstein employees and physicians to solve some of today’s most exciting healthcare challenges.”
Padova received support from the society, which helped him secure a patent for the Einstein Healthcare Network and find a manufacturer willing to translate the idea into a polished, saleable product. “We went through a bunch of manufacturers until we found one, Tiburon Medical Enterprises, which was patient enough to work with us.”
That was in 2011. The splint is now sold globally, and Padova's creativity has been recognized. In 2013, Padova was a finalist in the Best Medical Device category in the Innovation Awards sponsored by Philadelphia Business Journal and UnitedHealthcare.
Padova finds it gratifying that the splint he invented is now widely available. He never had much doubt that he was onto something that could make a big difference in people’s lives.
He recalls one incident in particular, when he was still experimenting with the splint in its most rudimentary form.
“We got a phone call from a mom whose 7-year-old child had had a stroke in utero,” he says. “I made a splint for him. I remember he picked up a block and stacked it on top of another one. All of a sudden I heard the mom gasp behind me.” At first Padova thought something was wrong. Quite the contrary. “She said to me, ‘You don’t understand. This is the first time he has used his hand since he was born.’”

Robotics exoskeleton for shoulder rehabilitation

Good luck trying to get this into your stroke department.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=160069&CultureCode=en
A team from the Centre for Automation and Robotics (CAR, UPM-CSIC) has developed a robotic exoskeleton that performs more efficiently rehabilitation therapies of patients with shoulder injuries. By using strength and motion sensors, the system assesses the degree of an injury and its evolution as the treatment progresses.
Besides, the use of this system is simple and easily adaptable to any patient. These features represent not only a great advantage for patients, who recover faster, but also a big help for healthcare providers that treat these injuries every day.
Human shoulder is one of the most complex joints in the human body due to its wide variety of motions. The interrelationship among its parts makes rehabilitation complex after an injury if compared to other skeletal-muscle injuries.
Rehabilitation therapies performed by intelligent robotic systems have been shown to reduce patients' recovery time. However, there are very few robotic systems for recovery of shoulder injuries. In this context, researchers from CAR have developed a robotic exoskeleton that, apart from lessening the recovery time of an injury, assesses and registers the progress of the entire rehabilitation process.
According to the main researcher, Cecilia García Cena, simulating the skeletal system is not enough to develop this exoskeleton, it is needed to incorporate both the kinematics and dynamics of a complete model that takes into account the skeletal system, muscles, tendons and ligaments. All these elements are included in the new intelligent robotic system.
The exoskeleton developed by researchers is inexpensive, easy to use and adaptable to any patient. This system can help to relieve saturated rehabilitation units, with the consequent saving in the healthcare system.
http://www.upm.es/internacional/UPM/UPM_Channel/News/c8767d6ee2e52510VgnVCM10000009c7648aRCRD

The Exoskeletons Are Coming

Which other exoskeletons is your stroke department looking at for stroke rehabilitation? ANYTHING AT ALL? I've written about 50 posts on this over the past four years. Has your stroke department done anything about exoskeletons in those years?
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/539251/the-exoskeletons-are-coming/
Even if you lack the resources of Tony Stark, you can obtain a high-tech suit to enhance your natural abilities, or at least help you avoid a backache. Mechanical outfits, known as exoskeletons, are gaining a foothold in the real world.
The Japanese company Panasonic announced recently that it will start selling an exoskeleton designed to help workers lift and carry objects more easily and with less risk of injury. The suit was developed in collaboration with a subsidiary company called ActiveLink. It weighs just over 13 pounds and attaches to the back, thighs, and feet, enabling the wearer to carry 33 pounds of extra load. The device has been tested by warehouse handlers in Osaka, Japan, and is currently in trials with forestry workers in the region.
Panasonic’s device is among a small but growing number of exoskeletons available commercially—less fantastic and more cumbersome versions of a technology that’s been a staple of science fiction for some time. Though they have mainly been tested in medical and military settings, the technology is starting to move beyond these use niches, and it could make a difference for many manual laborers, especially as the workforce ages.

Panasonic is to sell an exoskeleton designed to help with manual work.

“We expect that exoskeletons, or power-assist suits, will be widely used in people’s lives in 15 years,” says Panasonic spokesperson Mio Yamanaka, who is based in Osaka, Japan. “We expect that they will be used for tasks that require physical strength, such as moving things and making deliveries, public works, construction, agriculture, and forestry.”
The Panasonic suit includes a lightweight carbon-fiber motor; sensors activate the motor when the wearer is lifting or carrying an object. With ActiveLink, the company is testing another, much larger suit designed to help carry loads as heavy as 220 pounds.
Some other companies are showing an interest in technology that can assist workers and help prevent injury. In collaboration with ergonomics researchers at the Technical University of Munich, the German carmaker BMW has given workers a custom-made, 3-D-printed orthotic device that fits over the thumb and helps them perform repetitive tasks. Another German carmaker, Audi, is testing a wearable device from a company called Noonee, which provides back support for workers who need to perform repetitive crouching motions.
Another Japanese company, Cyberdyne, already sells exoskeletons for medical and industrial use. The company’s technology, which was spun out of the University of Tsukuba, uses nerve signals to detect a wearer’s intention to move before applying assistive force. Earlier this year, Cyberdyne signed an agreement with the Japanese automation company Omron to develop assistive technology for use in factories.

US Bionics a company cofounded by Homayoon Kazerooni, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is also working to commercialize two exoskeletons—one for rehabilitation, which is currently being tested in Italy, and another for industrial use. These are designed to be very lightweight and conform well to a person’s normal motion. Kazerooni says the industrial model, which he demonstrated at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute last month, will be significantly lighter, cheaper, and more flexible. “The key is not just what the exoskeleton does in terms of lessening the load,” he says. “It’s also about preventing maneuvers the user could do without the device.”
Exoskeletons have found commercial traction for rehabilitation and as walking aids. Earlier this week, a company called ReWalk, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, announced the latest version of its device for people with spinal-cord injuries. The system enables people who normally require a wheelchair to walk with the aid of crutches (see “Personal Exoskeletons for Paraplegics”). Powerful exoskeletons have also been tested by the U.S. military for some time.
Progress in the underlying technology could help make exoskeletons more common. Conor Walsh and Robert Wood, two professors at Harvard University, are developing exoskeletons using novel materials and methods of assisting a wearer’s motion, making them much lighter and more comfortable (see “Motorized Pants to Help Soldiers and Stroke Victims”). If this type of technology can be commercialized, it could make exoskeletons more appealing to workers and employers.

Motor imagery training improves precision of an upper limb movement in patients with hemiparesis

How many decades before your stroke department has thousands of hours of guided imagery for you to think about? I'll guess 50 years. Now if they would compare motor imagery to action observation we would have something useful for survivors. Don't do this on your own, think how dangerous it is to think about your movements.
http://iospress.metapress.com/content/t67557518727350w/

Luzia Grabherr^{1, 2}, Corinne Jola³, Gilberto Berra⁴, Robert Theiler⁴, Fred W. Mast¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
²School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
³Division of Social and Health Sciences - Psychology, Abertay University, Dundee, UK
⁴Department of Rheumatology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Triemli City Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In healthy participants, beneficial effects of motor imagery training on movement execution have been shown for precision, strength, and speed. In the clinical context, it is still debated whether motor imagery provides an effective rehabilitation technique in patients with motor deficits. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of two different types of movement training: motor imagery vs. motor execution. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with hemiparesis were assigned to one of two training groups: the imagery or the execution-training group. Both groups completed a baseline test before they received six training sessions, each of which was followed by a test session. Using a novel and precisely quantifiable test, we assessed how accurately patients performed an upper limb movement. RESULTS: Both training groups improved performance over the six test sessions but the improvement was significantly larger in the imagery group. That is, the imagery group was able to perform more precise movements than the execution group after the sixth training session while there was no difference at the beginning of the training. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide evidence for the benefit of motor imagery training in patients with hemiparesis and thus suggest the integration of cognitive training in conventional physiotherapy practice.

New video game helping stroke patients regain movement

Of all the video games I've written about which one is your doctor getting installed in the stroke rehab department? Does your doctor have ANY clue as to how many video games for stroke rehab there are? S/he can search my blog, I'm getting tired of providing baby food to them by directly pointing to the posts. Damn they have to grow up sometime, at 6 years of age they should have my whole blog memorized by now.
http://abc7news.com/health/new-video-game-helping-stroke-patients-regain-movement/641209/
Loss of the use of limbs is the most common side effect of strokes, and hundreds of thousands of people suffer one every year.

Now a video game developed by researchers in Westchester is helping stroke patients in their recovery.

"It got my brain working with my hand you know, I noticed that right away," said 63-year old stroke patient Fred Watson.

He says a video game is helping him regain the use of his right hand, impaired when he suffered a stroke about six months ago.

Both Fred and the game were part of a just-completed study at Burke Medical Research Institute in White Plains.

The six-week pilot program set out initially to simply see if chronic stroke patients, like Fred, would be comfortable using the game, and whether they would enjoy it.

But the lead researcher says what they found was so much more.

"What we noticed was that all of them had significantly improved motor function," said David Putrino, Ph.D., Director of Telemedicine and Virtual Rehab at Burke Medical Research Institute.

He developed the game. A motion-capture device utilizing infrared technology allows the patient's hand movements to control the movements of an airplane, flying it through various obstacles and loops.

As the patient's manual dexterity improves, the game gets harder.

"Playing the video game got them excited about therapy. It got them thinking about therapy and thinking, you know what, I'm going to beat that level next time so I'm going to practice at home," said Putrino.

That's exactly what Fred says he did, and it paid off.

"Oh yes, there's a big difference. Just the movement of the hand is simple," he said.

Researchers say the next step is to get this therapeutic video system into homes.

"The thinking behind it is, if this is what you got out of 30 minutes, three times a week, imagine what you get if you're just sitting there doing it all the time," said Putrino.

"I would play this video constantly because I know it does get the cognitive skills going," said Fred.

In fact, there are future plans to use this same protocol for children with cerebral palsy, though researchers admit they would have to step up their gaming technology.

"The younger kids who actually know what a good video game looks like, they said absolutely not playing this game, you guys need to go back and do better," said Putrino.

For more information on Burke Rehabilitation and Research, visit:
http://www.burke.org/

Live Jazz at Moriarty's Pub - stroke rehab

A night full of stroke rehab. Is your stroke department so incompetent that they don't take you to live music? Do they know of ANY of this research?
Action observation; your choice of finger movements, drummer, guitarist, violinist, keyboardist.
Music listening.
Balance challenges; walking in the dark amongst the narrow spaces between chairs and tables.
Drinking alcohol helps challenge your balance.
https://www.facebook.com/moriartyspub
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Action observation

New research supporting stroke rehabilitation   Nov. 2014.

Plasticity and Response to Action Observation   Oct. 2014.

Motor imagery during action observation modulates automatic imitation effects in rhythmical actions   Mar. 2014.

Clinical feasibility of action observation training for walking function of patients with post-stroke hemiparesis: a randomized controlled trial   Mar. 2014.

Training Videos Help Restore Motor Function, May Aid in Stroke Rehabilitation Mar. 2014.

 Using action observation to study superior motor performance: a pilot fMRI study  Jan. 2014.

Multiple roles of motor imagery during action observation  Jan. 2014.

Motor imagery ability in stroke patients: the relationship between implicit and explicit motor imagery measures  Dec. 2013.

From action representation to action execution: exploring the links between cognitive and biomechanical levels of motor control  Oct. 2013.

Action observation as a stroke therapy  June 2013.

Action-Observation In Stroke Rehabilitation  June 2013.

Exercise for stroke patients' brains  June 2013.

Watching object related movements modulates mirror-like activity in parietal brain regions  March 2013.

Watching object related movements modulates mirror-like activity in parietal brain regions  May 2012.

Action observation and mirror neuron network: a tool for motor stroke rehabilitation.  April 2012.

Modulating the motor system by action observation: Implications for stroke rehabilitation  Feb. 2012.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Music rehabilitation

Exploring a Neuroplasticity Model of Music Therapy  

11 Problems Music Can Solve

Why does music therapy work? The Science Behind the Music.

Musical Training Can Increase Blood Flow in Brain

Listening to classical music ameliorates unilateral neglect after stroke

Music brings memories back to the brain injured 

Moderating variables of music training-induced neuroplasticity: a review and discussion

Plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex induced by Music-supported therapy in stroke patients: a TMS study

Hand-Clapping Songs Improve Motor and Cognitive Skills, Research Shows

 Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke

Intensive musical therapy may help improve speech in stroke patients 

The Creative Therapy Which Reduces Depression in Young and Old Alike - Music

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Balance

Easy exercises to improve stability and prevent falls

Simple, everyday activities can strengthen balance

Longitudinal Analysis of Balance Confidence in Individuals With Stroke Using a Multilevel Model for Change

Clinical Correlates of Between-Limb Synchronization of Standing Balance Control and Falls During Inpatient Stroke Rehabilitation

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How badly is your stoke hospital failing by not providing any of these as stroke protocols?