An article by SUSAN K. LIVIO for North Jersey.com on October 12, 2011 tells how nearly one in four injured service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has suffered a traumatic brain injury — a grim diagnosis that may force them to relearn the most basic of skills — walking, talking and meeting daily challenges of life.
Ron Sharp, 61, a Vietnam veteran, is the first participant in a therapy program for New Jersey vets with traumatic brain injuries at Bancroft NeuroHealth.
Bancroft NeuroHealth’s 20 years of experience in dealing with such injuries has allowed it to land the only contract in New Jersey from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to serve moderately and severely brain-injured members of the armed services.
Bancroft, based in Haddonfield, is one of 21 nationally accredited agencies that won a contract in June. The three-year, $23.5 million Assisted Living-Traumatic Brain Injury pilot program is aimed at helping veterans cope with the limitations of their conditions — and to regain independence wherever possible.
“Brain injury is … a lifelong condition,” said Cynthia Boyer, senior clinical director for Bancroft’s brain-injury programs. “It’s not like breaking your leg and you heal and get better. Life strategies may have to change.”
Traumatic brain injury is the “signature wound” among those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, accounting for 22 percent of all casualties and 59 percent of blast-related injuries, said Kristine Yaffe, a psychiatry professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Yaffe is also director of the memory disorders program at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 161,025 service members were diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury from 2000 to 2009.
When TBI occurs and recovery is progressing the Tutor system (HandTutor, ArmTutor, LegTutor, 3DTutor) has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The Tutor system consists of ergonomic wearable devices together with powerful dedicated rehabilitation software. The system is indicated for patients in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. Controlled exercise practice will help to prevent the development of compensatory movement patterns. The dedicated software allows the therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the therapist can objectively and quantitatively evaluate and report on the treatment progress. The rehabilitation system optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The Tutor system is FDA and CE certified. Research has shown the efficacy of the Tutor system. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20740477
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