Cognitive Rehabilitation and the Tutor System Work Together

John M. Grohol, Psy.D. reviewed the following information on October 13, 2011 for PSYCH CENTRAL
Solid evidence is lacking thus far that specific goal-oriented treatments are effective for traumatic brain injury, or TBI, though results are promising, according to a government report.
Each year, it is estimated that 1.7 million people in the United States sustain a TBI. From 2000 to 2010, the number of military service members diagnosed with TBI nearly tripled from just under 11,000 to more than 30,700.
Traumatic brain injury results from a bump or blow to the head, or from external forces that cause the brain to move within the head, such as whiplash or exposure to blasts. It can cause cognitive, physical, and/or psychosocial problems.
One form of treatment for TBI is cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT), a goal-oriented approach to help patients increase their ability to process and interpret information. CRT involves a variety of treatments provided by health professionals in a wide range of fields. When the TBI causes joint movement impairment the Tutor system has become invaluable.
TBI is so prevalent in modern combat that it is considered the “signature wound” of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. Department of Defense thus asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health division of the National Academy of Sciences, to conduct a study to determine the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation therapy for treatment of TBI.
“Survivors of traumatic brain injury may face long-term challenges in physical as well as emotional rehabilitation and reintegration to everyday life. They need an effective health care infrastructure and evidence-based treatment and rehabilitation policies to care for and cope with their impairments,” said Dr. Ira Shoulson, the head of the IOM committee that studied the problem and a neurologist at Georgetown University.
The goal of cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) is to help an individual with a brain injury enhance his or her ability to move through daily life by recovering or compensating for damaged cognitive or physical functions. A restorative approach helps the patient reestablish cognitive function, while compensatory approaches help the individual to adapt to an ongoing impairment.
When the disability is specifically physical the HandTutor, ArmTutor, LegTutor and 3DTutor have played an important role in interactive rehabilitation exercises.
The Tutors have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy improving functional outcomes for upper and lower limb disabilities due to TBI. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. The system also includes objective quantitative evaluations that provide the therapist information to customize the most suitable rehabilitation program to the patient’s ability. Currently part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals the Tutors are also used in clinics and at home through the use of telerehabilitation.