Mind Controlled Device Helps Stroke Patients Retrain Brain to Move Paralyzed Hands

27/05/2017

HomeFeatured Mind Controlled Device Helps Stroke Patients Retrain Brain to Move Paralyzed Hands Neuroscience NewsNEUROSCIENCE NEWSMAY 27, 2017 FEATUREDNEUROLOGYNEUROSCIENCEROBOTICS9 MIN READ Summary: Researchers use BCI and exoskeleton technology to allow people with paralyzed hands following stroke to regain movement and control of their limb.

Source: WUSTL.

Device reads brain signals and converts them into motion.

Stroke patients who learned to use their minds to open and close a device fitted over their paralyzed hands gained some control over their hands, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

By mentally controlling the device with the help of a brain-computer interface, participants trained the uninjured parts of their brains to take over functions previously performed by injured areas of the brain, the researchers said.

“We have shown that a brain-computer interface using the uninjured hemisphere can achieve meaningful recovery in chronic stroke patients,” said Eric Leuthardt, MD, a professor of neurosurgery, of neuroscience, of biomedical engineering, and of mechanical engineering & applied science, and the study’s co-senior author.

The study is published May 26 in the journal Stroke.