Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Jianping Wang, Yanpeng Kan, Taisheng Zhang, Zhen Zhang, Manman Xu
Summary: Due to the lack of physical therapists and the low effectiveness of manual training, more hemiplegia patients are inclined to use rehabilitation training equipment. However, there is a scarcity of lower limb rehabilitation training devices for MRC-2 patients, and the existing devices have issues of poor autonomy and inability to relieve muscle weakness. To address these problems, a prototype based on gravity balance was designed, allowing patients to passively experience rehabilitation training while balancing the gravity of their lower limbs. Experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the device's gravity balancing characteristics for MRC-2 patients.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Marie-Claire Smith, Benjamin J. Scrivener, Cathy M. Stinear
Summary: This observational study investigated whether lower limb motor-evoked potentials 1 week post-stroke can predict recovery of independent walking at 3 and 6 months post-stroke. The results showed that the presence of lower limb motor-evoked potentials can predict independent walking at 3 and 6 months post-stroke, but clinical factors are more important.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY NEUROSURGERY AND PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Xiaoyan Shen, Xuemei Wang, Song Lu, Zhiling Li, Wei Shao, Yan Wu
Summary: This paper proposed a novel control scheme for physical rehabilitation training through decoding brain signals, achieving one-to-one correspondence between subjective mind and limb movement. The experiments on rats with spinal cord injury demonstrated the effectiveness of the system in motor function recovery through spinal cord stimulation and functional electrical stimulation.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Chingyi Nam, Wei Rong, Waiming Li, Chingyee Cheung, Wingkit Ngai, Tszching Cheung, Mankit Pang, Li Li, Junyan Hu, Honwah Wai, Xiaoling Hu
Summary: This article presents a novel electromyography (EMG)-driven exoneuromusculoskeleton that integrates the neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), soft pneumatic muscle, and exoskeleton techniques, for self-help upper limb training after stroke. The developed system provides significant improvement in limb performance and muscular coordination, supporting self-help upper limb rehabilitation after stroke.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marc P. P. Powell, Nikhil Verma, Erynn Sorensen, Erick Carranza, Amy Boos, Daryl P. P. Fields, Souvik Roy, Scott Ensel, Beatrice Barra, Jeffrey Balzer, Jeff Goldsmith, Robert M. M. Friedlander, George F. F. Wittenberg, Lee E. E. Fisher, John W. W. Krakauer, Peter C. C. Gerszten, Elvira Pirondini, Douglas J. J. Weber, Marco Capogrosso
Summary: Cerebral strokes can cause permanent motor deficits in the arm and hand by disrupting the communication between the motor cortex and the spinal cord. However, the spinal circuits below the lesion remain intact and can be targeted for neurotechnologies to restore movement. This first-in-human study shows promising evidence that electrical stimulation of cervical spinal circuits can improve arm and hand motor control in chronic post-stroke hemiparesis.
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Andreia S. P. Sousa, Juliana Moreira, Claudia Silva, Ines Mesquita, Rui Macedo, Augusta Silva, Rubim Santos
Summary: Stroke leads to significant impairment in upper limb function, and rehabilitation aims to restore pre-stroke motor skills by stimulating neuroplasticity. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is recognized as a promising supplementary therapy in stroke rehabilitation. This study presents a comprehensive review on the usability of FES in post-stroke upper limb rehabilitation, including factors related to rehabilitation and critical appraisal of outcome measures. The review highlights FES as a promising tool to induce neuroplastic modifications in post-stroke rehabilitation, but the lack of studies evaluating FES usability through motor control outcomes and user satisfaction limits the definition of optimal therapeutical window for different functional tasks. FES systems integrating postural control muscles involving other anatomical regions are needed to improve upper limb function in post-stroke patients.
Article
Biology
Hsien-Lin Cheng, Chueh-Ho Lin, Sung-Hui Tseng, Chih-Wei Peng, Chien-Hung Lai
Summary: This study investigated the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and visual feedback training (VF) in improving lower limb motor performance, gait, and corticospinal excitability in patients with chronic stroke. The results showed significant improvements in motor-evoked potential (MEP) latency, Timed Up and Go (TUG) test scores, and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) scores after the intervention of rTMS and VF training. The findings suggest that rTMS and VF training may enhance cortical excitability and walking ability in individuals with chronic stroke.
Article
Rehabilitation
Franco Franchignoni, Andrej Bavec, Urska Zupanc, Andrea Giordano, Caterina Albensi, Helena Burger
Summary: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Slovene version of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale using Rasch analysis, and found that the simplified scale is a valid and reliable measure for individuals with lower-limb amputation. The study also demonstrated the possibility of transforming the ordinal summed raw scores of the ABC-5/SLO into interval-level measurements using a nomogram.
ARCHIVES OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Weizhen Wang, Bin Shi, Dong Wang, Jing Wang, Gang Liu
Summary: This study proposed a novel BCI paradigm that enhances lower-limb motor imagery ability through induced kinesthetic illusion. The results showed that vibration on the Achilles tendon can induce kinesthetic illusion and improve BCI performance.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Brice T. Cleland, Sangeetha Madhavan
Summary: This article discusses the role of ipsilateral motor pathways in lower limb motor impairment and recovery after stroke, highlighting opportunities for further research and insights into using this information to guide rehabilitation efforts.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Yaejin Moon, Taylor Zuleger, Martina Lamberti, Ashir Bansal, Chaithanya K. Mummidisetty, Kelly A. McKenzie, Lindsey Yingling, Sangeetha Madhavan, Elliot J. Roth, Richard L. Lieber, Arun Jayaraman
Summary: Research comparing stroke survivors with age-matched and younger controls revealed significant differences in sMER characteristics such as resting motor threshold and latency. These differences may be attributed to both stroke and normal aging, suggesting implications for altered spinal motor output after stroke. This observation highlights the feasibility of using sMER characteristics as an assessment tool after stroke.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Baekdong Cha, Kyung-Hwan Lee, Jeha Ryu
Summary: Robotic lower-limb rehabilitation training utilizes a novel deep-learning-based technique for real-time detection of emergency stops, achieving high precision and recall rates, and demonstrating robustness to variations in measurement noise.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Orthopedics
David A. Sherman, Tim Lehmann, Jochen Baumeister, Alli Gokeler, Luke Donovan, Grant E. Norte
Summary: The study found that external focus resulted in increased cortical activity associated with cognitive, motor, somatosensory, and visual processing. EF-laser, which prioritized visual feedback, had the largest and broadest effects. Changes in cortical activity resulting from external focus were independently associated with improved balance performance.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Akhil Mohan, Jayme S. Knutson, David A. Cunningham, Morgan Widina, Kyle O'Laughlin, Tarun Arora, Xin Li, Ken Sakaie, Xiaofeng Wang, Ken Uchino, Ela B. Plow
Summary: This study aims to investigate the potential benefits of combining Contralaterally Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation (CCFES) with a new rTMS approach that stimulates intact, contralesional higher motor cortices (cHMC) on severely impaired stroke survivors. By targeting spared neural substrates and engaging the unimpaired limb in movement of the impaired limb, a more favorable effect on paretic upper limb function is anticipated.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Yu-Hsin Chen, Chia-Ling Chen, Ying-Zu Huang, Hsieh-Ching Chen, Chung-Yao Chen, Ching-Yi Wu, Keh-chung Lin
Summary: This study investigated the augmented effect of iTBS on virtual reality-based cycling training for upper limb function in stroke patients. The results showed that the iTBS+VCT group demonstrated significant improvements in reducing spasticity, increasing actual use of the affected upper limb, and improving participation in daily life, compared to the sham group.
JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION
(2021)