Neuroplasticity

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

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

Apple store welcomes YouTube sensation Christopher Hills with assistive tech

At just 18 years old, Christopher Hills is already a YouTube sensation and master video producer and editor. The Sunshine Coast teenager – who likes Doctor Who, Marvel movies and Star Wars but is most passionate about aviation … READ MORE

Motor skills will not develop fully without opportunities to practice

Knowing that motor skills will not develop to their full potential without opportunities to practice in environments that are stimulating and supportive, we evaluated the effect of a physical activity (PA)-based intervention targeting … READ MORE

Walking study in CP highlights need for tailored orthotic prescription

Effects of AFOs on distance, speed vary.. A recent study demonstrates the importance of personalizing prescriptions for ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) in children with cerebral palsy, rather than applying group data to individuals. … READ MORE

Stability for CP: AFOs benefit diplegic children

In children with diplegic cerebral palsy (CP), wearing bilateral ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) that promote heel-first ground contact helps to improve stability and may reduce the risk of falls, according to research presented in March … READ MORE

FES showed no benefits in patients with isolated foot drop

Patients with hemiplegia who used a functional electrical stimulation device for isolated foot drop showed no significant functional differences during gait, according to results presented at the Association of Children’s … READ MORE

I’m the first quadriplegic person to regain thought-control of my arm

After being paralysed six years ago, Ian Burkhart is now able to swipe a credit card and play the computer game Guitar Hero, thanks to a device that uses machine learning to read his thoughts and stimulate his arm. Ian Burkhart, Ohio … READ MORE

Mobility plays important role in development for toddlers with disabilities

Typical toddlers simultaneously spend about three hours a day in physical activity, play and engagement with objects such as toys, while their peers with mobility disabilities are less likely to engage in all of those behaviors at the … READ MORE

Early focus on gross motor skills may benefit children with autism

Study finds link to social milestones. In children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), lower fine and gross motor skills are associated with higher disease severity scores, according to new research that supports the concept of … READ MORE

It’s a horse, of course: equine therapy

The horse simulator was created at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, where students have all the resources they need to design and build projects. Here, students Jaime Gomez and Amy Ryu prepare to test their device, intended … READ MORE

Horses sooth the soul for special needs kids

The healing power of equine therapy. A pink-haired teenager painted two pictures on the side of her massive, living canvas. First, the girl drew a picture of a broken heart and a horse. Then, she used the paint to sketch a person and … READ MORE

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