Tutor System May Provide a Less Expensive Solution for TBI Therapy

William K. Alcorn writing forVINDY.COM in Youngstown, Ohio tells about a Mahoning Valley native Dr. Chrisanne Gordon is on a mission to end the misery of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who are suffering from TBI, or traumatic brain injury.
It is estimated that 360,000 military veterans, including some 10,000 Ohioans and many from the Valley, will return from the Middle East wars with TBI, the invisible but — Dr. Gordon says — very real “signature injury” of those wars.
“The estimate is, I think, low. In the civilian world, this would be an epidemic,” said Dr. Gordon, a rehabilitation specialist.
“That’s why we have to share — the military’s TRICARE, the Department of Veterans Affairs and civilian health-care systems — so that all of our heroes get the expert care that they deserve,” said Dr. Gordon, a 1971 graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School.
She is the daughter of Dr. James “Nick” Gordon of Georgia, who had a private practice in Struthers and is a former Mooney football team physician, and Mary C. Gordon of Poland. She has a brother, Neil Gordon in Georgia, and two sisters, Patty Patterson of Boardman and Mary Gail Kavanaugh in Texas.
TRICARE is the health-care program for active-duty service members; and the VA provides health care for veterans.
“I tell my patients, ‘You are not out of your mind; you are out your brain.’ By that, I mean they are not crazy. I tell them that if they were tougher, they would still have this injury … you can’t just tough it out. You need treatment,” she said.
Traumatic brain injury is real, and it can be fixed with cognitive retraining, but neither TRICARE nor the VA are paying for treatment. That’s the big debate now, she said.
Sensory and cognitive impairments through intensive active exercises are provided for by the Tutor system at relatively less expensive cost than traditional methods.
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 newly developed Tutors consist 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. See www.HandTutor.com for more information.