There may be good news for stroke patients and their caregivers. A new device has been created that is said to offer those who have had a stroke new hope of regaining significant muscle movement, and with it, increased mobility and independence.
Stroke is the third-leading cause of death after heart attacks and cancer in the U.S., affecting some 700,000 Americans each year. Those fortunate enough to survive often face a number of challenges. While strokes cost the U.S. economy $56 billion a year, no price tag can accurately portray the psychological cost to the stroke patient-or to his or her loved ones and caregivers-when the patient is left wholly or partially paralyzed, and possibly also unable to communicate.
Until recently, the medical community believed it was not possible for the post-stroke brain to be, in essence, "rewired" to reconnect the immobile muscles. Physical therapists typically instructed patients who had lost control of their left hand to use their right, or vice versa, as a form of compensation.
Now, however, thanks to a new device called the NeuroMove, all that may be changing. The machine monitors a patient's mental attempts to move his or her muscles. It uses electrodes, affixed to a problem area, to deliver safe electrical stimulation. At the same time, it monitors and analyzes neural activity, and distinguishes signals that indicate attempts by the brain to move the muscle. When a strong enough attempt is made, the device initiates muscle movement. Over time, the patient's neural connections may be relearned and reestablished, and the affected muscles may once again be able to move on their own.
The device was created by a company called Zynex Medical that provides electrotherapy products and pain management systems for patients with functional disabilities.
In recent clinical trials, the NeuroMove helped 90 percent of the stroke patients regain significant muscle movement. It is FDA cleared for use with a doctor's prescription.
Thomas Sandgaard, President and CEO of Zynex Medical, explains that the NeuroMove works by "stimulating and reactivating the muscles themselves, while reestablishing brain-muscle connections that can help restore the patient to a greater degree of voluntary movement."
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For more information and a broad overview of stroke rehabilitation, visit www.neuromove.com.
A new device created to help stroke patients is based on the concept that neural connections may be relearned and reestablished.
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