Traumatic Brain Injury and the Tutor System’s Effectiveness

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) usually affects younger people and causes long lasting impairments in physical, behavioral, cognitive and social function. The physical deficits are not usually as disabling as the cognitive, behavioral and personality deficits. The recovery period from TBI can sometimes continue for 5 years after injury. Rehabilitation is effective using an interdisciplinary approach, with close liaison including the patient, family and care givers. The issues to be focused on are retraining in activities of daily living, cognitive, pain management, behavioural therapies and pharmacological management.

Because the social burden of TBI is significant family education and counselling, and support of patient and care givers is important. General practitioners also play an important role in providing ongoing support in the patient’s community by monitoring for medical complications, personality and behavioral issues, social reintegration, the coping skills of the care giver and return-to-work issues.
TBI is a disorder of major public health significance. Rehabilitation services which are matched to the needs of people with TBI, as well as the community’s nonmedical services, should optimize outcomes over the course of recovery. Both the patient with TBI and his social support network should be able to have access to rehabilitation services throughout the recovery period which could continue for many years after the injury. The services required will change as the patient’s needs change over time. Survivors of severe TBI have to face the challenge of resuming a meaningful life both for themselves and their families.
The TUTOR system (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) has been in the forefront of medical tools used in TBI physical rehabilitation. Although not a cure all the TUTORs afford one of the best hopes of allowing the TBI patient to return movement to affected limbs.
The newly developed TUTORs have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. 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. This training is customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with the TUTORs being used in clinics and in the patient’s home. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist via tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.