HandTutor used to treat Developmental coordination disorder

Developmental coordination disorder
Definition

Developmental coordination disorder is a childhood disorder that leads to poor coordination and clumsiness.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors

About 6% of school-age children have some kind of developmental coordination disorder. Children with this disorder may:

Have trouble holding objects
Have an unsteady walk
Run into other children
Trip over their own feet

Developmental coordination disorder may occur alone or with other learning disorders, such as communication disorders or disorder of written expression.
Symptoms

Children with developmental coordination disorder have difficulties with motor coordination compared to other children the same age. Some common symptoms include:

Clumsiness
Delays in sitting up, crawling, and walking
Problems with sucking and swallowing during first year of life
Problems with gross motor coordination (for example, jumping, hopping, or standing on one foot)
Problems with fine motor coordination (for example, writing, using scissors, tying shoelaces, or tapping one finger to another)

Signs and tests

Physical causes and other types of learning disabilities must be ruled out before the diagnosis can be confirmed.
Complications

Learning problems
Low self-esteem resulting from poor ability at sports and teasing by other children
Repeated injuries
Weight gain as a result of not wanting to participate in physical activities (such as sports)

Treatments

The HandTutor system has been shown to improve fine motor movement ability in patients with DCD.

LegTutor system improves functional lower extremity movement ability in stroke patients

Stroke is among the most common causes of adult-onset impairment and disability. Motor impairment affects most stroke survivors and causes functional disability. Physical and Occupational therapists implement therapy based on scientific knowledge of motor capacity, motor control, and motor relearning. By using theory-driven approaches to treatment clinicians are translating basic sciences into novel clinical practice and building on methods to manipulate the remarkable plasticity of the brain. Examples of therapy used includes, task oriented training, task-related practice, robotic trainers, electrical stimulation. The HandTutor and ArmTutor system is proven to improve upper extremity function in patients with arm movement dysfunction in both rehabilitation clinic and the home. The introduction of the LegTutor system allows for customized intensive lower extremity movement practice and improved functional ability outcome.

American Society for Quality (ASQ) advises the implementation of Telemedicine, remote monitoring systems and telerehabiliation programs

The American Society for Quality (ASQ) conducted an online poll with 475 U.S. healthcare quality professionals who are part of the ASQ quality community http://bit.ly/jivNXB. The report states that healthcare quality will be most impacted by shortages of clinicians including occupational and physical therapists both in the acute and sub acute and outpatients settings. One of the solutions proposed to allow healthcare organizations to prevent these shortage-related quality issues is the implementation of Telemedicine, remote monitoring systems and telerehabilitation programs.
The HandTutor and ArmTutor systems are used to give tele-rehabilitation world wide to children with arm and hand movement impairments and to supplement tradition occupational and physical therapy. The LegTutor system allows for patients to undertake a supervised and motivating exercise program for the knee and hip in their own homes following orthopedic trauma, disease and surgery.

ArmTutor, HandTutor and LegTutor systems used in inpatient and outpatient to treat Apraxia

In the April edition of Neurorehabilitation http://bit.ly/jo56wP Dr. Vanbellingen and Dr. Bohlhalter from the Departments of Neurology and Clinical Research, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, Switzerland define Apraxia as a higher-order motor disorder impairing the ability to correctly perform skilled, purposive movements as the result of neurological disorders most commonly stroke, dementia and movement disorders. It is increasingly recognised that apraxia negatively influences activities of daily living (ADL). Early diagnosis and treatment should be part of the neurorehabilitation programme. In their article they describe the most important subtypes of apraxia such as ideational and ideomotor apraxia as well as their impact on ADL and outcome. Furthermore, the relationship to associated disorders such as aphasia is discussed. Finally, strategies concerning assessment, management and treatment of the disorder are presented.
The HandTutor, ArmTutor system improve arm and hand functional ability and quality of life. The LegTutor system is used in inpatient and outpatient to treat knee and hip movement ability.

The HandTutor assists recovery of upper limb dexterity in stroke patients

In the April edition of NeuroRehabilitation http://bit.ly/jCIipo Dr. Kong and his group from Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore look at the arm and hand functional ability of one hundred and forty patients more than a year after stroke onset. The group found that upper extremity functional deficit was present in almost 70% of patients with chronic stroke. The lack of functional ability correlated to upper limb strength and spasticity. The group concluded that the most significant predictor of dexterity, functional outcome and quality of life was the severity of upper limb paresis on admission to rehabilitation.
The HandTutor is used in both acute and chronic hand and arm rehabilitation by occupational and physical therapists based both in hospital and outpatient clinics.

American Telemedicine Association (ATA) asks Medicare to pay for telehealth services given by physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech

In a letter sent to Dr. Donald M. Berwick Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the American Telemedicine Association wants Medicare to waive the restrictions on telehealth payments so that telehealth services http://bit.ly/iC4pwm . This will mean that tele-medicine and telerehabilitation can be treated like any other form of care. As Administrator, Dr. Berwick oversees the Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Together, these programs provide care to nearly one in three Americans.
An important change will be the removal of Medicare restrictions on paying physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists for telehealth services. The ATA contends that lifting this and the location-based prohibition would open up home-based telerehabilitation, which the group called "an important service for beneficiaries from whom going to therapy is a major barrier."