Stroke survivors who had ceased to benefit from conventional rehabilitation gained clinically significant arm movement and control by using an external robotic device powered by their own brains, according to a study published in
Most patients retained the benefits for at least 2 months after the therapy sessions ended, suggesting the potential for long-lasting gains, Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, director of the Non-Invasive Brain Machine Interface Systems Laboratory at the University of Houston, shares in a media release from the University of Houston.
Move on Demand
The trial involved training stroke survivors with limited movement in one arm to use a brain-machine interface (BMI), a computer program that captures brain activity to determine the subject’s intentions and then triggers an exoskeleton, or robotic device affixed to the affected arm, to move in response to those intentions. The device wouldn’t move if intention wasn’t detected, ensuring subjects remained engage
Stroke survivors who had ceased to benefit from conventional rehabilitation gained clinically significant arm movement and control by using an external robotic device powered by the patients' own brains.
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IMAGE: Testing showed most patients retained the benefits for at least two months after the therapy sessions ended, suggesting the potential for long-lasting gains. view more
Credit: University of Houston
Stroke survivors who had ceased to benefit from conventional rehabilitation gained clinically significant arm movement and control by using an external robotic device powered by the patients own brains.
The results of the clinical trial were described in the journal
Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, director of the Non-Invasive Brain Machine Interface Systems Laboratory at the University of Houston, said testing showed most patients retained the benefits for at least two months after the therapy sessions ended, suggesting the potential for long-lasting gains. He is also Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of electrical and computer engineering.