A case report measuring the benefits of Myomo Inc’s MyoPro myoelectric orthosis, published recently in the Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering, suggests that, “Despite long-standing traumatic brain injury, meaningful improvements in motor function were observed.”
Researchers studied a 42-year-old female, 29.5 years post-traumatic brain injury with diminished motor control/coordination and learned nonuse of the right arm. The research consisted of 9 weeks of in-clinic training followed by 9 weeks of at-home use.
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“During in-clinic training, active range of motion, tone, muscle power, Fugl-Meyer, box and blocks test, and Chedoke assessment score improved. During the home-use phase, decrease in tone was maintained and all other outcomes declined but were still better upon study completion than baseline,” the researchers write, according to a media release from Myomo Inc.
“This individual had a very limited use of her arm before intervention with the device. In addition to the therapeutic benefits we measured, the patient’s caregivers reported functional improvement in her home setting. It is very heartwarming to see these improvements in a person even this many years after injury. This research is continuing now with a larger population of patients.”
— lead author Svetlana Pundik, MD, MSc, Brain Plasticity and Neuro Recovery Laboratory, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
“MyoPro not only extends the limited therapy time available in the clinic to continue in the home, it may also restore a person’s ability to perform activities of daily living such as feeding one’s self and performing light household tasks. As a result, users see an improved quality of life, some may return to work, and they may reduce their overall healthcare costs.”
— Paul R. Gudonis, Myomo CEO
The study was funded by the US Department of Defense through an award to Dr Stefania Fatone at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and was conducted by a research team at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center led by Dr Svetlana Pundik.
Myomo Inc is a wearable medical robotics company that offers increased functionality for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper-limb paralysis.
[Source(s): Myomo Inc, Business Wire]
