Recovering from a stroke can be a very slow and painful experience for both the patient and his family. Scientists in the US studied 15 patients with an average age of 61 who had suffered partial paralysis on the right side of the body. They had suffered strokes up to 10 years before starting a new kind of treatment. An experimental robotic device that provides a "power assist" to weakened muscles shows promising results in improving arm motion in partially paralyzed stroke survivors. The device, which is pending FDA approval, was tested on stroke patients at MIT's Clinical Research Center and at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. The wearable, portable neurorobotic device combines a lightweight, motorized elbow brace with a computerized system that detects electrical impulses (electromyographic, or "EMG," signals) from the muscles. The device allows a patient to control affected muscles by attempting to move the arm. The system detects and then processes the EMG signals and translates them into the desired motion, amplifying the movements of the weakened muscles.

A month after two weeks of therapy the Fugl-Meyer and Action Research Arm tests, but not the Box-and-Block test, revealed significant improvements. Both forms of therapy produced similar gains, but six patients who had less disability at the start of the trial benefited more from the "premotor" technique.

Via [Dvice]