I-BaR: Integrated Balance Rehabilitation Framework

Neurological diseases are observed in approximately one billion people worldwide. A further increase is foreseen at the global level as a result of population growth and aging. Individuals with neurological disorders often experience cognitive, motor, sensory, and lower extremity dysfunctions. Thus, the possibility of falling and balance problems arise due to the postural control deficiencies that occur as a result of the deterioration in the integration of multi-sensory information. We propose a novel rehabilitation framework, Integrated Balance Rehabilitation (I-BaR), to improve the effectiveness of the rehabilitation with objective assessment, individualized therapy, convenience with different disability levels and adoption of an assist-as-needed paradigm and, with an integrated rehabilitation process as a whole, i.e., ankle-foot preparation, balance, and stepping phases, respectively. Integrated Balance Rehabilitation allows patients to improve their balance ability by providing multi-modal feedback: visual via utilization of Virtual Reality; vestibular via anteroposterior and mediolateral perturbations with the robotic platform; proprioceptive via haptic feedback.Comment: 37 pages, 2 figures, journal pape

Hand Rehabilitation after Chronic Brain Damage: Effectiveness, Usability and Acceptance of Technological Devices: A Pilot Study

Purpose: The aim is to present an overview of existing tools for hand rehabilitation after brain injury and a pilot study to test HandTutor® in patients with chronic brain damage (CBD)

Functional MRI using robotic MRI compatible devices for monitoring rehabilitation from chronic stroke in the molecular medicine era (Review)

The number of individuals suffering from stroke is increasing daily, and its consequences are a major contributor to invalidity in today’s society. Stroke rehabilitation is relatively new, having been hampered from the longstanding view that lost functions were not recoverable. Nowadays, robotic devices, which aid by stimulating brain plasticity, can assist in restoring movement compromised by stroke-induced pathological changes in the brain which can be monitored by MRI. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of stroke patients participating in a training program with a novel Magnetic Resonance Compatible Hand-Induced Robotic Device (MR_CHIROD) could yield a promising biomarker that, ultimately, will enhance our ability to advance hand motor recovery following chronic stroke. Using state-of-the art MRI in conjunction with MR_CHIROD-assisted therapy can provide novel biomarkers for stroke patient rehabilitation extracted by a meta-analysis of data. Successful completion of such studies may provide a ground breaking method for the future evaluation of stroke rehabilitation therapies. Their results will attest to the effectiveness of using MR-compatible hand devices with MRI to provide accurate monitoring during rehabilitative therapy. Furthermore, such results may identify biomarkers of brain plasticity that can be monitored during stroke patient rehabilitation. The potential benefit for chronic stroke patients is that rehabilitation may become possible for a longer period of time after stroke than previously thought, unveiling motor skill improvements possible even after six months due to retained brain plasticity

Effects of sensory cueing in virtual motor rehabilitation. A review.

Objectives To critically identify studies that evaluate the effects of cueing in virtual motor rehabilitation in patients having different neurological disorders and to make recommendations for future studies. Methods Data from MEDLINE®, IEEExplore, Science Direct, Cochrane library and Web of Science was searched until February 2015. We included studies that investigate the effects of cueing in virtual motor rehabilitation related to interventions for upper or lower extremities using auditory, visual, and tactile cues on motor performance in non-immersive, semi-immersive, or fully immersive virtual environments. These studies compared virtual cueing with an alternative or no intervention. Results Ten studies with a total number of 153 patients were included in the review. All of them refer to the impact of cueing in virtual motor rehabilitation, regardless of the pathological condition. After selecting the articles, the following variables were extracted: year of publication, sample size, study design, type of cueing, intervention procedures, outcome measures, and main findings. The outcome evaluation was done at baseline and end of the treatment in most of the studies. All of studies except one showed improvements in some or all outcomes after intervention, or, in some cases, in favor of the virtual rehabilitation group compared to the control group. Conclusions Virtual cueing seems to be a promising approach to improve motor learning, providing a channel for non-pharmacological therapeutic intervention in different neurological disorders. However, further studies using larger and more homogeneous groups of patients are required to confirm these findings