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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – COLUMBUS, Ohio – A study by stroke rehabilitation researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center shows that wearing a novel robotic brace that is triggered by just a hint of muscle activity can allow patients to move quickly and independently and to perform activities independently.
The findings are published in the journal Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
“This approach has been around since the 1950s, and is commonly used with injured soldiers returning home from war. However, this is one of the first studies examining the utility of using a myoelectric neuroprosthesis to produce an instantaneous effect on movement,” said Stephen Page, lead author of the study and associate professor of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in Ohio State’s College of Medicine.
Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May is Stroke Awareness Month.
Stroke remains one of the leading causes of disability, with most patients experiencing moderate to severe impairment in their ability to use their arms, Page said.
“The people we studied had moderate to severe arm impairment. We found that when these patients were wearing the device, their performance of movements was significantly better. Patients were able to do things wearing the robotic brace that they would not be able to do under normal circumstances after having a stroke.”
The MyoPro Motion-G is a noninvasive, lightweight, wearable system that uses surface electromyographic signals, the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. The device uses these signals from affected muscle groups to control a powered orthosis, providing powered assistance for elbow flexion and extension and gross grasp motions via motors attached to the exterior of the brace. It functions by continuously monitoring the surface electromyographic signals of the user’s bicep and triceps muscles for elbow motion and the forearm flexor and extensor muscle groups for grasp motion. These signals are filtered and processed to provide a desired joint movement proportional to the exerted effort of the user.
The device can be adjusted for each individual based on their level of impairment through a custom software interface.
Study participants exhibited increased quality in performing all functional tasks while wearing the device, including significant increases in their ability to grasp objects while feeding and drinking. Additionally, patients showed significant decreases in time taken to grasp a cup, and increased gross manual dexterity while wearing the device.
Page said he was pleasantly surprised by the results, but added that more research is needed before this device will be available to stroke patients through their health providers. Page is leading a multicenter trial enrolling additional patients to test out the robotic brace “Usually it takes multiple attempts and considerable amounts of practice to restore function to someone whose arm has been impaired by a stroke,” Page said. “This was one of the first times in my 16-year career that I have seen an approach positively affect independence so quickly and comprehensively.”
Funding for this study was provided by Myomo, Inc. Page discloses that he received payment from Myomo as a per diem therapist last year.
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