Neuroplasticity

Glassouse turns your head into a mouse

The Glassouse basically turns your head into a mouse or trackpad. If you can’t use your arms, this means you can finally navigate a computer screen, tablet or cell phone easily, on your own. Glassouse tracks head movements to … READ MORE

Getting a leg up: Hand task training transfers motor knowledge to feet

Skill transfer between body parts reflects plasticity of brain’s organization, researchers say. Training at tasks with your hands stimulates the areas of the motor cortex that controls your feet. Pexels Photo Rachel Butch, Johns … READ MORE

Pushing neuro-rehabilitation to its limits

Physiatrist Pablo Celnik is accustomed to getting referrals for sophisticated patients. What he is not used to is receiving referrals for patients accompanied by a film crew—until now, that is. Dr. Pablo Celnik. The Human Brain … READ MORE

Carbon fiber AFO-SMO orthoses improved gait in patient with cerebral palsy

The use of a carbon fiber ankle-foot orthosis with supramalleolar orthosis inner boots improved the gait of a 13-year-old patient with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, according to data presented at the Association of Children’s … READ MORE

Hinged vs solid AFOs for cerebral palsy: No significant difference in gait

There are no significant differences in gait or gross mobility between hinged and solid ankle-foot orthoses for patients with cerebral palsy who could walk without an assistive device, according to a study presented at the Association … READ MORE

Tuned AFO improves gait in patient with stroke

Adjusting the mechanical properties, alignment, plantar flexion and dorsiflexion resistance of a novel ankle-foot orthosis improved hemiparetic gait in a patient with stroke, according to data presented at the American Academy of … READ MORE

AFO stiffness can help optimize patient function

Decisions related to the stiffness of an ankle foot orthosis (AFO)—whether they involve device design or the materials from which it’s fabricated—can help lower extremity clinicians customize stability, biomechanics, and muscle … READ MORE

Horseback riding improves children’s cognitive ability

Study shows how the effects of horseback riding improve learning in children. Recent research published in Frontiers in Public Health shows that the effects of vibrations produced by horses during horse-riding lead to the activation … READ MORE

Brain-computer interface advance allows fast, accurate typing by people with paralysis

Stanford University School of Medicine Clinical research led by Stanford University investigators has demonstrated that a brain-to-computer hookup can enable people with paralysis to type via direct brain control at the highest speeds … READ MORE

Phone app helps people with ALS speak using just their eyes

GazeSpeak runs on a smartphone and uses artificial intelligence to convert eye movements into speech, so a conversation partner can understand what is being said in real time. The eyes say it all. GazeSpeak, Enable Team, Microsoft … READ MORE

Game therapy: Serious video games help children with cerebral palsy

The OrbIT controller was custom designed to help children with cerebral palsy. David Hobbs photo. Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability, affecting more than 34,000 Australians, and more than 17 million … READ MORE

Video games: A new therapeutic frontier for cerebral palsy

Very little in life slows Jillian Peters down. If you catch her in a hallway, the spunky seven-year-old is likely to race you in her hot-pink wheelchair. Cerebral palsy doesn’t define her. Video games are helping children with … READ MORE

Lessons on aging well, from a 105-year-old cyclist

At the age of 105, the French amateur cyclist and world-record holder Robert Marchand is more aerobically fit than most 50-year-olds — and appears to be getting even fitter as he ages, according to a revelatory new study of his … READ MORE

Uneven terrain: Tactics for orthotic device users

Helping patients manage an orthotic device can be challenging, but doing so in the face of uneven terrain is a balancing act between stability, mobility, and strength. Device adjustments and rehabilitation protocols can help … READ MORE

Engineers customize Christmas toys for disabled children

Because of her cerebral palsy, 4-year-old Scarlett Wilgis has trouble opening her hands and can’t get around without help. Her parents have scoured store shelves and websites for toys for her but have mostly been disappointed. … READ MORE

Stimulator bypasses spine injury, helps patients move hands

Experimental treatment improves grip, finger motion up to 300 percent in quadriplegics. Stimulator Bypasses Spine Injury, Helps Patients Move Hands. An experimental procedure involving an implanted spinal stimulator is showing early … READ MORE

Improving lower extremity orthotics management for children with cerebral palsy

Some cerebral palsy cases caused by genetic anomalies, not just brain injury: study. Antony Kelly Photo 570 News Larissa Pavone MD, Deborah Gaebler-Spira MD, Donald McGovern CPO FAAOP, Steven Makovitch MD, Stefania Fatone PhD, … READ MORE

Ballet improves balance, social skills in children with cerebral palsy

Classical ballet classes may help improve balance while enhancing social skills in school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP), according to a new study. Ballet Academy East, New York. Photo Rosalie-O’Connor Joana Fernandes PhD, … READ MORE

Walking uses more than just feet

We humans walk with our feet. This is true, but not entirely. Walking, as part of locomotion, is a coordinated whole-body movement that involves both the arms and legs. Walking is a whole-body movement. Arm and leg movements are … READ MORE

Rx: Exercise daily—outdoors. Doctor’s orders

Prescribing nature therapy. Slow Uptake of Exercise Prescriptions. With dazzling Olympic feats on display all summer, too many of my patients are still literally immobilized. Medically, sitting too long shuts off the enzyme … READ MORE

Brain-sensing technology allows typing at 12 words per minute

Stanford University researchers have managed to use an implanted multi-electrode array to read the brain signals of monkeys thinking of typing letters on a screen and to convert those signals into the target letters at a rate of 12 … READ MORE

New approaches to orthotic management in children with cerebral palsy

Practitioners look to novel ways of using familiar lower limb orthotic alternatives to complement new technology. No single treatment is appropriate for every child, but it is generally agreed that the sooner intervention is started … READ MORE

AFOs for kids with cerebral palsy improve stability

Researchers report that the use of ankle-foot orthoses, or AFOs, improve the backward margin of stability in children with cerebral palsy (CP) diplegia, a form of the condition affecting both sides of the body. Pinterest Magdalena … READ MORE

Robotic gait training for kids with CP: Is it really effective?

UAlberta study recruiting children to evaluate Lokomat gait training program. Researchers at Canada’s University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine are investigating the effectiveness of a gait training program on a … READ MORE

Gaming camera could aid MS treatment

Kinect 3D camera used to assess walking of MS patients. A team of researchers led by McGill University postdoctoral fellow Farnood Gholami, supervised by Jozsef Kövecses from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Centre for … READ MORE

Tongue-controlled computer mouse earns Ontario teen a science prize

Device is like having a mouse inside your mouth. Emma Mogus says the device she created works by putting five buttons inside a mouthguard-type device. Each button corresponds to a different function: up, down, left, right, and enter. … READ MORE

To brace or not to brace? Bracing for neuromuscular conditions

There is no doubt about it: braces are a pain. Sometimes they are a literal pain, causing pain for your child. And sometimes they are a more figurative pain in the rear end—difficult to deal with, difficult to get on and off, … READ MORE

Big data in healthcare goes far beyond EHR

Big data has applications in medtech that extend far beyond electronic health records. An analytics expert explains how data and algorithms have the potential to create a neuroassistive device to help paralyzed patients. In 2014, Ian … READ MORE

Architect with ALS designs a residence he can control with just blinks

Steve Saling, an architect and engineer with ALS, helped design features of the Leonard Florence Center, Dapper McDonald ALS Residence, intended to preserve the independence of those with ALS, where he is a resident. Josh Reynolds for … READ MORE

The horse is the therapist

With hippotherapy, the horse provides the therapy. Three-year-old Jack Foster sat on his mother’s lap as she wrapped a towel carefully around his neck. “Jack has cerebral palsy and low muscle tone,” said his mother, Emily … READ MORE

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