Medical Device May Help Stroke Patients Regain Mobility

Experts generally agree that if stroke patients don’t recover the use of their affected limbs within three to six months after a stroke, the chance that the arm or leg will become functional again is minimal. Now, researchers at Ohio State Medical Center are exploring the use of a special device that they hope will aide patients in regaining mobility, perhaps even years after a stroke.

The device, a robotic arm, when strapped to the affected arm, senses the patient’s own remaining muscle signals and provides motorized assistance to force completion of the arm movement.  This makes possible everyday tasks such as flipping on a light switch or reaching for a cup from a cabinet.

But researchers at OSU, in an NIH-sponsored study, are exploring whether continued use of the device may also actually help repair nerve damage by “waking up” unused neurological pathways, or possibly using alternative pathways, to help the patient take control of their own arm movement.

“We believe that the repetition may turn on the brain,” said Stephen Page, an associate professor of occupational therapy at The Ohio State University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. “If we can restore even partial arm movement in patients who have spasticity we will have helped them move a step closer toward greater independence,” he added.

Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the nation.

For more on this study, or to see a video on how it works, visit:  http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/mediaroom/releases/Pages/Device-May-Extend-...