Post Stroke Physical Therapy Includes Tutor System

Until just recently, scientists usually thought that when a section of the brain was damaged, its function was lost forever. If stroke patients couldn’t use a weak or paralyzed arm they were taught to dress and bathe with their good arm. But now, sophisticated imaging tests of the brain have revealed that when nerve cells die, their functions are taken over by other cells.
This concept is known as neuroplasticity and has altered stroke rehabilitation considerably. “Now, we know that if you want to get motor recovery on the affected side, you have to use the affected side intensively and repetitively,” says Richard Zorowitz, MD, chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. “By doing that it stimulates the brain to make new connections.”
Neuroplasticity is the principle behind new techniques such as mirror therapy as well as several other new technologies. They include electrical stimulation of the damaged limbs and robots that help patients repeatedly move those limbs.
Additionally and at a more cost effective price the TUTOR system (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) has shown to be very successful in returning normal limb function to stroke victims.
The newly developed devices have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing.
The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patients ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. The TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.