Robot for rent helps stroke survivors recover
Young stroke patients who have no time to go to rehabilitation because of work commitments will soon be able to have a personal trainer at home thanks to a new take-home robotic system.
The Bio-Mechatronic Therapeutic Robotic System was designed for the increasing number of young stroke survivors in the city, according to Raymond Tong Kai-yu of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
'In recent years there has been a surge in the number of stroke victims under the age of 30 coming to me for help. It has to do, in part, with rising obesity. Most of these victims are still working and have no time to go to rehabilitation at hospitals,' Dr Tong said.
'This new system can be rented out and taken home like a piece of gym equipment. Most importantly, we believe it will help patients recover faster and to a bigger extent than traditional methods.'
According to Department of Health figures, 86 per cent of the 24,742 people who suffered strokes last year survived and had to undergo varying degrees of rehabilitation. A total of 5,657 of the survivors were below the age of retirement, with 518 under the age of 39.
Since 2001, 126,664 people have suffered strokes in Hong Kong, with 109,998 surviving. The survival rate for people under 64, about 24 per cent of the total, is 93 per cent.
The new robotic system uses sensors, attached to the patient's damaged arm or leg, to measure electrical impulses flowing through their muscles when they try to move. After determining how much effort is being put into the task, the computer decides on how much assistance or resistance to provide.
An exercise programme - juggling a combination of assistive and resistive forces to make each of the 18 sets of five repetitions easier or harder - is then drafted for the patient to follow five days a week.
During each session the patient has to extend or contract their limbs to the angle prescribed by an arrow that slides back and forth on the screen. They get a score at the end of each session that they can be compared to previous scores.
'Current rehabilitation systems either expect the patient to do all the work - like lifting weights - or give them 100 per cent assistance. They don't take into account how much effort the patient is putting in,' said Dr Tong, assistant professor of the department of health technology and informatics.
'We are balancing what they want with what they need. So far this system seems to have sped up the recovery process. The range of motion patients are able to do is also greater.'
Tests on eight recovering stroke victims have been done so far, with positive results. Advanced clinical trials on 40 patients - aimed at measuring how much more effective the system is over traditional methods - will begin this week.
