Telerehabilitation Device

Abstract

Stroke affects more than 700,000 individuals in the United States each year; this is approximately one person every 45 seconds (1). Stroke patients often suffer from loss of motor control in both their upper and lower limbs. Research has indicated that upper limb rehabilitation is much slower than the lower limb. This is due to the immediate need to walk following a stroke. Practicing moving and squeezing objects has shown to improve upper limb motor control and a device which helps patients do this could allow for quicker rehabilitation (2). Dr. Susan Brown, Motor Control Lab, School of Kinesiology and Dr. Jeanne Langan, research fellow, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical School, are creating a telerehabilitation device to be used in a home environment, which allows patients to rehabilitate hand manipulation.