Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Video Game Used To Help Chronic Stroke Patients Learn Motor Skills

October 27, 2016 By Lexie Metzler

(Credit: Medscape)

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine discovered how to use robotic and video game technology to help chronic stroke patients learn new motor skills.

A piece of robotic equipment was wrapped around the patient’s dominant arm, holding it up for them so that gravity would not be burden.

Holding their arm at a 90-degree angle, patients played a game designed to help strengthen the muscles surrounding the elbow. Patients had to move a cursor across a series of screens and into small target windows in time with a metronome. They completed nine blocks during ten trials at different speeds: 24, 30, 38, 45, 60, 80, 100, 110, and 120 beats per minute.

The second part of the training session lasted for four consecutive days. Patients had to complete 30 trails of five blocks at their own pace, but were encouraged to improve their speed throughout it.

Depending on the severity of the stroke, survivors are left with difficulties in speech, feeling sensation, balance, and motor functions, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. It may also lead to partial or total paralysis. Strokes occur when the blood supply in the brain is blocked or a blood vessel ruptures.

While patients are unable to recover lost functions, new skills can be learned.

“What we found is that physical rehab is not going to change the weakness caused by damaged brain cells in chronic patients, but it is going to change how well they can perform certain tasks, which can have a huge impact on a patient’s daily life,” says Pablo Celnik, M.D. of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

At the end of the training session, each group’s skill level showed improvement. By the third and fourth days of training, all of the participants’ improvement plateaued. However, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “The study showed that there was considerable overlap between the post-training performance of the stroke patients and the pre-training performance of groups with less impairment.”

Dr. Robert Hardwick of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said that the post-training mild-to-moderate group cannot be distinguished from the pre-training control group.

While he advised patients to not create  false expectations for recovery, he also advised them to remain hopeful.

“This is good news for patients because it means that even when there is little likelihood of further neurological recovery, it means I can still teach them new tasks through training,” says Celnik.

“What is important is to not create false expectations of neurological recovery, while at the same time being hopeful that patients can learn within the boundaries of their neurological deficit to improve their lives.”

Related Articles Read More >

A photo of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy used for medical devices such as stents, heart valves, catheters and orthopedics.
What is nitinol and where is it used?
UC Berkeley and UC San Diego researchers develop way to restore speech using BCIs (1)
Researchers use BCIs to restore speech in people with paralysis
An image of Abbott's Infinity deep brain stimulation (DBS) implants and leads.
As Abbott studies DBS for depression, what might be next?
Brain EEG rendering from peterschreiber.media on Adobe Stock
Hidden signatures in EEGs could reduce epilepsy misdiagnoses
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe