Exercising isolated and coordinated hand movment impairments using the HandTutor improves functional movement ability

In the April edition of Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation http://bit.ly/iLXFlB Dr. Carpinella and her team from LaRiCE: Gait and Balance Disorders Laboratory, Department of Neurorehabilitation, Milan, Italy compared spatial and temporal aspects of hand movement in 12 healthy volunteers and 14 hemiplegic stroke survivors.
The group found that in comparison with healthy controls revealed that hemiparetic hand movement was impaired not only in joints ROM but also in the temporal aspects of motion: peak velocities were significantly decreased, inter-digit coordination was reduced of more than 50% and inter-joint coordination patterns were highly disrupted.
The HandTutor system trains isolated and coordinated hand movement impairments in a motivating and challenging environment that promotes exercise practice in order to better achieve functional hand movement ability so that the patient can better perform everyday living tasks.

LegTutor and 3DTutor indicated for Active Movement Rehabilitation of Lower-Limb Impairments in Children With Cerebral Palsy

In the May edition of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair http://bit.ly/equBpT Dr. Yi-Ning Wu from Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA and Dr. Miriam Hwang from Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea study Combined Passive Stretching and Active Movement Rehabilitation of Lower-Limb Impairments in Children With Cerebral Palsy using a portable robot. The group found that Passive stretching combined with engaging in active movement training was of benefit in this pilot study for children with CP. They demonstrated improvements in joint biomechanical properties, motor control performance, and functional capability in balance and mobility.
The LegTutor and 3DTutor trains isolated and combined hip, knee and ankle movement and focusses on leg motor control in order to improve functional walking outcome.

HandTutor and LegTutor system used in patietns with incomplete spinal cord injury

In the April edition of Neurorehabil Neural Repair http://bit.ly/ejZmRc Dr. Kelly Brunton and his team from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada research objective measures of functional walking in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury. The group discuss The Spinal Cord Injury Functional Ambulation Profile (SCI-FAP) which was developed to address the need for a measure of functional walking in the spinal cord-injured population. The SCI-FAP involves the timed performance of seven common walking tasks, such as walking and negotiating obstacles, doors and stairs. The measure accounts for manual assistance and walking aids used. In this study the group show that the SCI-FAP has high inter-rater and test-retest reliability, as well as discriminative and convergent validity.
The LegTutpr and 3DTutor can be used to provide intensive lower extremity virtual functional exercise practice. The LegTutor uses a dedicated rehabilitation software that uses motivating games that can be customized to the stage of rehabilitation and the patients movement. The LegTutor encourages both open and closed kinetic loop active exercises.

HandTutor, ArmTutor system improves functional movement outcomes

In the April edition of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) http://bit.ly/iiSMgj Dr. Smitherman and his group from Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, 701 Grove Road, USA investigated the functional outcomes, following single-event multilevel surgery of the upper extremity in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The group found that children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy showed significantly improved dynamic segmental alignment and, to a lesser degree, spontaneous use of the upper extremity following single-event multilevel surgery compared with a comparable nonoperative control group. However, the grasp-release ability did not significantly improve in either the operative or nonoperative group.
The HandTutor and ArmTutor system is used to train patients through intensive exercise practice to use their impaired arms and hands and improve their functional movement ability.

HandTutor, ArmTutor and LegTutor system provide objective evaluation and follow up

Objective evaluation and follow up combined with customized exercise practice are the fundamentals in physical and occupation therapy treatment of neurological and orthopedic injury and disease and will ensure optimal functional improvement and improve the patients quality of life. Functional assessment including the WOLF MOTOR FUNCTION TEST (WMFT) quantify upper extremity motor ability through timed and functional task assessments however, you will see from this demonstration and scoring protocol that the assessment has a large subjective element http://bit.ly/g3UPrE

Home based computer-assisted upper limb exercise for young children with cerebral palsy

In the March edition of Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine http://bit.ly/fBCSi6 Dr. Weightman and his colleagues form the Academic Unit of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of leeds reported improvements in self-reported function and quality of arm movements observed following the use of a home based arm rehabiliaiton system. The system was used to augment home-based arm exercise in an engaging way for children with cerebral palsy.

The HandTutor and ArmTutor systems is used to give tele-rehabilitation worl wide to children with arm and hand movement impairments and to supplement tradition occupational and physical therapy.

Interprofessional community-based stroke rehabilitation superior to usual care in acute stroke

In the February edition of The Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences http://bit.ly/hPd1fE Dr. Markle-Reid and her team from Master University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada compared an interprofessional stroke rehabilitation approach to usual care in 82 acute post 18 months community-based stroke rehabilitation patients. The primary outcome was change in health-related quality of life and functioning. The group found that stroke survivors in the intervention group showed clinically important improvements in physical and social functioning scores. Although there was a higher total per-person costs of use of health services in the intervention group compared to usual home care the difference was not statistically significant. The Canadian group concluded that a specialized, interprofessional team is a feasible and acceptable approach to community-based stroke rehabilitation that produced greater improvements in quality of life compared to usual home care.
The HandTutor and ArmTutor for upper extremity arm and hand rehabilitation and the LegTutor and 3DTutor systems for hip and knee lower extremity rehabilitation incorporate the concept of virtual functional tasks which are used to motivate the patient to do intensive active exercise practice are used by the patient in clinic and at home with home care patients being supported by tele-rehabilitation.

The language system of the brain is functionally interwoven with perceptual and motor systems.

In the February edition of Nature Reviews Neurology http://bit.ly/iglaQ5 Dr Berthier Professor of Neurology and Director, Unit of Cognitive Neurology and Aphasia, Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Sanitarias (CIMES), University of Malaga, Spain and Dr. Pulvermüller Programme Leader, Cognitive Neuroscience of Language, Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit; Fellow, Wolfson College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom discuss neuroscience insights and therapy to improve neurorehabilitation of poststroke Aphasia.
They state that the treatment of aphasias—acquired language disorders—caused by stroke and other neurological conditions has benefitted from insights from neuroscience and neuropsychology. Massed practice and exploitation of residual neurological capacities can aid neurorehabilitation of patients with poststroke aphasia, and progress in basic neuroscience research indicates that the language system of the human brain is functionally interwoven with perceptual and motor systems. Intensive speech and language therapies, including constraint-induced aphasia therapy, that activate both the linguistic and concordant motor circuits utilize the knowledge gained from these advances in neuroscience research and can lead to surprisingly rapid improvements in language performance, even in patients with chronic aphasia.
The HandTutor, ArmTutor and LegTutor systems provide motivation to the patient to do repetitive virtual functional task practice or massed active exercise practice which is proven to improve sensory, motor and cognitive movement ability and aid in the function of active daily living tasks which increases patient independence post stroke.