HandTutor

The Tutor System can be Used Successfully with Bobath or CIMT Methods in Physical Rehabilitation

2012-02-23T06:10:00.001-08:00

A trial study was conducted by Burcu Ersoz Huseyinsinoglu etal of the Stroke Unit, Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey to determine which method of rehabilitation is more effective for stroke victim’s arm function–the Bobath Concept or Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT).
The objective of the study was to compare the effects of the Bobath Concept and CIMT on arm functional recovery among stroke patients that had a high level of function on the affected side.
This was a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial that took place in an outpatient physiotherapy department of a stroke unit. 24 patients were randomized to both systems.
The Bobath group was treated for 1 hour whereas the CIMT group received training for 3 hours per day for 10 consecutive weekdays.
The conclusions drawn were that CIMT and the Bobath Concept have similar efficiencies in improving functional ability, speed and quality of movement in the paretic arm among stroke patients that have a high level of function. CIMT seems to be slightly more efficient than the Bobath Concept in improving the amount and quality of affected arm use.
Both methods are enhanced when the TUTOR system is in place.
The ARMTUTOR has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder, elbow, wrist or upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows physical and occupational therapists (PT) (OT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patient’s movement ability and report on the patient’s exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice. It does this through the use of various games which are at a patient-customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Overall, controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired or compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better performance of functional tasks.
The Arm Tutor and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics and are FDA and CE certified. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Parkinson’s Patients Benefit from HandTutor and ArmTutor

2012-02-22T08:09:00.001-08:00

Alexander Michael Crizzle, MPH and Ian J Newhouse, PhD writing for the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine
ask whether physical exercise is beneficial for persons with Parkinson’s disease?
They reviewed existing studies evaluating the effectiveness of physical exercise on mortality, mobility, strength, balance, and activities of daily living (ADL) for Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients.
Only patients with PD were included in the intervention study. The intervention included some form of physical or therapeutic exercise after which the effects of the physical exercise were evaluated.
Outcomes in the studies were measured in terms of physical improvements in patients with PD, such as improved axial rotation, functional reach, flexibility, balance, muscle strength, short-step gait, and mobility. All studies reviewed show that exercise improves overall performance in PD patients. Improvements were measured using standardized tests and other measurement scales.
The results of the research support the hypothesis that patients with PD improve their physical performance and activities of daily living through exercise.
The TUTOR system was developed to afford Parkinson’s patients a comfortable and challenging set of exercises that could return at least a modicum of normal movement to their affected limbs.
The HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for Parkinson’s patients as well as those suffering from stroke,brain and spinal injuries, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR consist of a wearable glove or braces that detect limb mobility showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement he is actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patient’s ability to move his limb. The devices then measure the limb mobility and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows him to understand which effort is more successful. The TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospital rehabilitation clinics. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

The Tutors Assist Physical Rehabilitation for Wheelchair Bound Patients

2012-02-22T03:14:00.001-08:00

A study published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation on February16, 2012 and written by Marlene Aparecida PhD etal discusses how individuals with Spinal Cord Injury are affected by wheelchair sports on their respiratory muscle strength and thoracic mobility.
Thirty male subjects with chronic spinal cord injury took part in the study and were divided into four groups: sedentary subjects with quadriplegia, wheelchair rugby athletes with quadriplegia, sedentary subjects with paraplegia, and wheelchair basketball athletes with paraplegia . The study’s main outcome measures were maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure and the respiratory coefficients at the axillary and xiphoid levels.
The conclusions reached were that physical training seems to have a positive influence on respiratory muscle strength and thoracic mobility, especially in subjects with quadriplegia.
Physical training for incomplete paralysis is one of the issues that is accommodated with the use of the TUTOR system.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. This training is then customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with theTUTORS being used in clinics and in the home. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist offering tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

How the Hand, Arm, Leg and 3D Tutor System Assists the TBI Patient

2012-02-21T00:50:00.001-08:00

Inpatient rehabilitation is designed to help a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patient improve function after a moderate to severe TBI event. Amongst other problems faced by the patient are those of a physical nature i.e. loss of strength, coordination and movement. Most TBI rehabilitation inpatients participate in physical therapy and occupational therapy in an individual or group format.
One of the professionals that is assigned to the patient is a physical therapist (PT). The PT will help the patient improve physical function and mobility. The PT’s role is to teach the patient to be as physically independent and as safe as possible within the environment. This is accomplished through therapeutic exercises and re-education of muscles and nerves with the goal of restoring normal function. Specific goals to be accomplished in the physical therapy gym include strengthening muscles and improving endurance, walking and balance.
The other professional that will be involved is an Occupatonal Therapist (OT). The OT provides training in activities of daily living to help the patient become become more independent. The OT will work with the patient to improve strength, balance and trunk control amongst other skills. These therapists will also teach exercises that strengthen muscles used in speech and swallowing.
After inpatient rehabilitation, when the patient has shown sufficient improvement to leave the hospital, the question arises as to how rehabilitation will continue. This may become a problem for those patients that are well enough to be at home but not well enough to travel for therapy. At times an outpatient clinic may be found that is not too far from the patient’s home.
Luckily a solution exists that solves many, if not all, of these issues. Called the TUTOR system it is a set of devices (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) that have been recently developed to be used in physical rehabilitation of TBI patients both inpatient and outpatient and at home via telerehabilitation. The TUTORS can help the patient regain strength, movement and coordination of their affected limbs. Guided by a professional physical therapist the TBI patient will have a brace or glove attached to an appropriate area of his body and begin to “play” games on an attached computer which has dedicated software geared to improving the various muscles and limbs of the patient. In addition the progress made by the patient is then monitored and recorded so as to customize future sessions where further progress is achieved.
The TUTORS are currently in use in leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and clinics and are available for children as young as 4 years of age. The TUTORS are FDA and CE certified. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for further information.

The Tutor System as a Tool in Cancer Rehabilitation

2012-02-20T02:37:00.001-08:00

Cancer and treatment can cause physical problems including pain, fatigue, and muscle weakness. These may then interfere with life in a variety of ways including physically, emotionally and practically. While not all cancer survivors need rehabilitation services that are guided by health care professionals, most will need to at least work on improving strength and stamina.
Expert advice and guidance may help to improve health and ability more quickly and to a greater degree. There are many resources and therapies to help cancer survivors with fatigue, pain, and overall ability to function. Survivors who want to continue to work or return to employment may benefit from rehabilitation services to help them do so.
Some survivors, though, may have muscular or orthopedic problems and there may be uncertainty about how much to exercise or how to best exercise. A plan for rehabilitation can help a survivor to move forward while being as active as possible.
Each member of the rehabilitation team is likely to also work with the patient to develop a plan for their specific area of expertise. For example, a physical therapist will develop a plan to help recover physical strength and abilities. When that occurs it would advantageous to find the best method of doing so. This is where the TUTOR system comes in. The TUTORS ( HANDTUTOR, ARMTUITOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) have been developed to create an intensive exercise program for patients who have suffered from upper or lower extremity surgeries and many other disabling diseases. By involving oneself in the best exercise program normal movement returns to the affected limb.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR, for example, has become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for TBI and stroke victims and can be used for cancer patients and those recovering from spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. A plan for rehabilitation can help a survivor to move forward while being as active as possible. The HandTutor is a hand therapy tool used by occupational and physical therapists. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually accomplishing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Uses Intensive Exercise in Parkinson’s Therapy Treatment

2012-02-19T12:22:00.001-08:00

Published in KENTPATCH. Dateline February 18, 2012
Dr. Angela Ridgel, an assistant professor of exercise science/physiology, at Kent State University is spearheading two projects that involve exercise therapy which is exactly what the TUTOR system is based on.
The projects help individuals with Parkinson’s disease improve their cognitive and motor functions through exercise therapy that can delay the progression of Parkinson’s and lower the Parkinson’s medications dosages..
” I believe, and my research is proving, that we can use exercise therapy to promote improvements in the way the nervous system works and improve the lives of these individuals,” said Dr. Ridgel.
The first research study is called “The Parkinson’s Disease Cognitive Intervention”.
With support from Kent State’s Dr. John Gunstad, associate professor of psychology, and Dr. Ellen Glickman, professor of exercise physiology, Ridgel is currently studying the impact of upper and lower extremity exercise on cognition and motor function in addition to cerebral blood flowand cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.The goal is to add additional exercise therapy to previous methods.
Dr. Ridgel’s findings have shown improvements in cognitive function, mobility and oxygen saturation in the brain following comprehensive exercise intervention.
Other extensive psychological evaluations measuring memory, attention, problem-solving and language may lead to additional methods for Parkinson’s rehabilitation,according to Dr. Gunstad.
Ridgel will present the results of the study in May at the American College of Sports Medicine conference .
The second research study involves a “smart bike” that would allow the therapists to create a database of symptoms and responses. The database could then design a cycling program tailored to an individual’s unique challenges and capabilities.
Beginning in June, Ridgel will use the “smart bike” to assess the individual’s effort, performance, skill level and therapeutic value. The goal is to devise a computer-driven system that alters resistance, speed and time to benefit the individual. The ”bike” will produce a customized exercise program to benefit individuals with Parkinson’s.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are all devised to implement an intensive and customized exercise program.
They have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows him to understand which effort is more successful and gets him to move his affected limb again. In this way the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

ArmTutor Used in Conjunction With New Tasmanian Table.

2012-02-19T04:49:00.000-08:00

In a story released on February 19, 2012 for ABC News a Tasmanian hospital has developed a special table to be used by stroke victims to assist them with their physical therapy. Staff from the Launceston General Hospital and volunteers from Technical Aids for the Disabled in Tasmania have developed this special tool over a period of 5 years which would be very helpful while stroke patients use the ARMTUTOR.

The newly developed ARMTUTOR can play an integral part in post stroke and other upper limb rehabilitation. The ARMTUTOR provides the physiotherapist and occupational therapist the ability to customize manual therapy for the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Together with its sister devices (HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) it has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity – hand, arm and lower extremity — leg, hip. The ARMTUTOR system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated rehabilitation software.

The ARMTUTOR system allows for the occupational and physical therapist to implement biomechanical evaluations which include speed, passive/active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This, to best customize the shoulder and elbow exercises provided by the ARMTUTOR. In addition, quantitative biomechanical data allows for objective evaluation and rehabilitation treatment follow up by the occupational and physical therapist. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and motivating exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The exercises are designed in the form of challenging games that are suitable for a wide variety of orthopedic injury and disease. The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise task to their best ability.

The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatment and is used after arthroscopic surgery procedures. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s performance. This encourages motivation. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.

The ARMTUTOR system is being used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and has full FDA and CE certification. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM

Post Breast Surgery Physical Therapy Can Be Enhanced by the ArmTutor

2012-02-16T01:46:00.001-08:00

Kelli Easterling reporting in YOURDAILYJOURNAL.COM in February 2012 reports on the advice that after breast surgery, lymph node removal or breast radiation women should get involved in exercise to help in the recovery according to health care professionals. There are DVDs that explain how that can be done. It is vital that women who endure these kind of cancer surgeries return to a normal full range of motion so that they are able to resume a normal lifestyle.
One of the successful methods of such exercise can include the ARMTUTOR.
The ARMTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the arm, shoulder, elbow, wrist or anywhere in the upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows physical and occupational therapists (PT) (OT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patient‘s movement ability and report on the patient’s exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice. It does this through the use of various games which are set at a patient-customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder and arm treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Overall, controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired or compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better performance of functional tasks.
The ARMTUTOR and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics and are certified by the FDA and CE. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information….

Tutors as a Supplement for Elderly Exercise Programs

2012-02-15T14:24:00.001-08:00

Dr. Maria A. Fiatarone etal conducted a study and published it in the New England Journal of Medicine. The subject of the study was “Exercise Training and Nutritional Supplementation for Physical Frailty in Elderly People“.
Despite undernutrition and disuse of skeletal muscle that are often cited as potentially reversible causes of frailty amongst the elderly , the efficacy of interventions targeted specifically at these deficits has not been carefully studied until now.
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial was held comparing progressive resistance exercise training, multinutrient supplementation, both interventions, and neither in 100 frail nursing home residents over a 10-week period.
The conclusions reached were that high-intensity resistance exercise training is a feasible and effective means of counteracting muscle weakness and physical frailty in elderly people. In contrast, multinutrient supplementation without concomitant exercise does not reduce muscle weakness or physical frailty.
In addition to these training sessions and nutrient supplements the elderly can avail themselves of modern devices such as the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR.
These TUTORS are innovative motion capture gloves and arm and leg braces that implement an impairment oriented training based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive and repetitive exercises. Intensive exercise practice is the physical and occupational therapists tool to improve the patient’s sensory, motor and cognitive movement ability. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR use movement feedback and dedicated rehabilitation games to make sure that the exercises performed by patients who suffered stroke, brain/spinal cord injuries, Cerebral Palsy and other upper or lower limb disabilities or surgeries are challenging and motivating.This is because, the physiotherapist or occupational therapist can tailor the repetitive exercises to the patient’s exercise performance ability.
Currently part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals the TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home through the use of innovative telerehabilitation using the internet. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

The Tutor System and its Capabilities in African Rehabilitation Therapy

2012-02-15T03:09:00.001-08:00

In a research study conducted by Dr. Andrew J. Haig for the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine about the availability of medical rehabilitative care for people living in Antartica and Sub Saharan Africa it was found that for the Antarticans there was no major problem as when there was a need for such care the patient would merely be flown to world class healthcare facilities elsewhere. However for the approximately 78 million affected people on the African continent there was no such solution. Africa basically has no physical and rehabilitation medicine training programs, no professional organizations, no specialty board requirements, and no practising physicians in the field as of the time of the study.
Enter the TUTOR system with its versatility and availability in addition to it’s relatively low cost. The patient that suffers from a stroke, head/spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Radial/Ulnar nerve or Brachial Plexus injuries and other upper or lower joint issues can avail himself of this state of the art rehabilitation device. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are recently developed braces and gloves that are placed strategically on affected parts of the body and then with the dedicated software that has been created exclusively for the TUTORS provide for intensive and repetitive exercises using various games.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercises at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT, who can be located remotely through the use of telerehabiliation, and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
Although foreign charities and aid groups along with local governments would have to be involved the possibilities are endless as to the success the TUTORS can have with this population. The TUTOR system is FDA and CE certified and can be used by children as well as adults. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

ArmTutor Used in Parkinson’s Disease Physical Rehabilitation

2012-02-14T05:19:00.001-08:00

Published by the Hindawi Corporation in their 2012 journal edition there is a result of a study about Upper Extremity Motor Learning among Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease written by
K. Felix, etal of the Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
It has been found that motor learning occurs in the rehabilitation of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). With repetitive and structured practice of motor tasks, PD patients show improved performance, confirming that motor learning has probably occurred. Despite a number of studies that have been completed evaluating motor learning in people with PD, the sample sizes were small and the improvements were varied. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the ability of people with PD and how they learn motor tasks.
A total of 58 individuals with PD and 56 participants without PD were included from seven studies.
The results of the meta-analysis suggest that motor learning in upper extremity function occurs in both neurologically healthy controls and individuals with PD through practice of upper extremity reaching tasks designed to reduce movement time. This effect is present immediately after the training period but also is sustained after a period of time. The control participants have a mild to moderate increased effect based on their mean effect sizes compared to people with PD. However, the large overlap of confidence intervals would suggest that both groups benefit from the practice in which they participate.
Overall, these results are consistent with work done previously in small studies that demonstrate skill acquisition and retention in people with PD in a number of motor tasks. Such studies have demonstrated acquisition and retention of motor skills in varied upper extremity tasks not included in this meta-analysis such as serial reaction time tasks and other sequential aiming movements. Furthermore, motor learning studies in people with PD have demonstrated improvement in balance and lower extremity function through their practice.
Results from this pooling of data provide evidence that upper extremity movement time can be improved by the use of practice of reaching tasks in persons with PD, albeit potentially to a lesser extent than is shown in individuals with no neurological problems. The interpretation of this meta-analysis indicates that practice of relevant motor tasks targeted at maximizing acquisition and retention improved movement speed.
The ARMTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder, elbow, wrist or upper extremity for PD and other patients suffering from upper extremity limb movement disabilities.. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows physical and occupational therapists (PT) (OT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patient’s movement ability and report on the exercises’ progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice. It does this through the use of various games which are at a patient-customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Overall, controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired or compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better performance of functional tasks.
The ARMTUTOR and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics. They are certified by the FDA and CE and can be used at home through telerehabilitation See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information….

Tutor system - LegTutor effective tool with intensive robotic and manual gait training in sub-acute stroke

2012-02-14T05:09:00.000-08:00

In the February edition of Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation Dr. Conesa and his group from Functional Rehabilitation Department and the Brain Injury Unit, Neurorehabilitation Hospital Institut Guttmann Barcelona, Spain and the Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA report that 8 weeks of intensive physical rehabilitation including robotic and manual gait training was well tolerated by early stroke patients. The group saw significant gains in function with outcome measures including improved walking speed and balance scales. In particular, robotic training on the mid-level gait dysfunction group showed the best improvement. The gait training was split up into robotic gait training from 0-4 weeks and manual gait training weeks 4-8.

The LegTutor is a Leg brace that measures hip and knee movement. it is used to customize isolated and intensive manual gait exercsie practice and give the patients augmented feedback on their performance. The 3DTutor can be used to give intensive ankle exercise practice and assist in treating drop foot.

Foot drop caused by Radiculopathy treated by manual therapy and the 3DTutor

2012-02-14T04:03:00.000-08:00

Disease of the spinal nerve roots and spinal nerves particular in the lumbar spine and sacral region of the spine can lead to pain. The locality of pain is dependent on which nerve root is affected. This condition is known as Radiculopathy or radiculitis. Radiculopathy is characterized by a pain that seems to radiate from the spine and extend outward to cause symptoms away from the source of the spinal nerve root irritation. Manual therapy by a physiotherapist, physical therapist, and use of the 3DTutor particular if the pain has led to movement impairment e.g. foot drop
is affective in improving functional walking ability and motivate the patient to exercise despite the pain.

National Institute of Health Panel Discusses Traumatic Brain Injury Problem

2012-02-13T07:16:00.001-08:00

A number of years ago there was a panel discussion at a National Institutes of Health (NIH) event concerning ”Rehabilitation of Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury”. Although not recent it bears repeating.
The objective was to provide clinicians and biomedical researchers with information about and recommendations for effective rehabilitation measures for persons who have experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
There were participants representing the fields of behavioral medicine, neuropsychology, neurology, family medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, occupational therapy, speech and hearing, nursing, epidemiology, biostatistics, as well as the public.
The conclusions that were reached were that traumatic brain injury results mainly from sports injuries, vehicular incidents, acts of violence and falls; it is more than twice as likely to occur in men as in women; the estimated incidence rate is 100 per 100,000 persons, including 52,000 deaths annually and that the highest incidence is among persons aged 15 to 24 years and 75 years or older and with a lower number in children up to 5 years of age.
Since TBI may result in lifelong impairment of physical, cognitive and psychosocial functioning and that prevalence is estimated at 2.5 to 6.5 million individuals, TBI is therefore a disorder of major public health significance. In addition mild TBI is significantly underdiagnosed and the likely burden to society is therefore even greater. Given the large toll of TBI and the fact that there is no cure, prevention is very important. However, the focus of the conference was the evaluation of and support for rehabilitative measures for the cognitive and behavioral consequences of TBI.
The TUTOR system has been created to optimize rehabilitation measures for the cognitive and behavioral consequences of TBI.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) has become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for TBI, stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement he is actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. In this way the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Rehabilitation Units that Include the Tutor System Show Success

2012-02-13T03:46:00.001-08:00

F. Simmonds and T. Stevermuer of the Spinal Rehabilitation Unit, Caulfield Hospital, Alfred Health, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia compared the rehabilitation outcomes and demographic characteristics for both non-traumatic SCI and traumatic SCI patients admitted into either (SCIRUs)– specialist spinal cord injury rehabilitation units or (NSRUs)–non-specialist rehabilitation units . They studied 668 patients in rehabilitation units in Australia.
They found that there are differences in the characteristics of SCI patients admitted to SCIRU compared with NSRU. NT-SCI patients admitted to SCIRU have greater functional gain. When the SCI patient undergoes physical rehabilitation in an RU he will be able to avail himself of the latest equipment and medical devices to alleviate his symptoms and return him as much as possible to a normal life.
One such tool is the TUTOR system. It consists of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR, for example, has become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for TBI and stroke victims and those recovering from spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. The HANDTUTOR is a hand therapy tool used by occupational therapists. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually accomplishing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient understands which effort is more successful in moving their affected limb again. Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Traumatic Brain Injury and the Tutor System’s Effectiveness

2012-02-12T03:17:00.001-08:00

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) usually affects younger people and causes long lasting impairments in physical, behavioral, cognitive and social function. The physical deficits are not usually as disabling as the cognitive, behavioral and personality deficits. The recovery period from TBI can sometimes continue for 5 years after injury. Rehabilitation is effective using an interdisciplinary approach, with close liaison including the patient, family and care givers. The issues to be focused on are retraining in activities of daily living, cognitive, pain management, behavioural therapies and pharmacological management.

Because the social burden of TBI is significant family education and counselling, and support of patient and care givers is important. General practitioners also play an important role in providing ongoing support in the patient’s community by monitoring for medical complications, personality and behavioral issues, social reintegration, the coping skills of the care giver and return-to-work issues.
TBI is a disorder of major public health significance. Rehabilitation services which are matched to the needs of people with TBI, as well as the community’s nonmedical services, should optimize outcomes over the course of recovery. Both the patient with TBI and his social support network should be able to have access to rehabilitation services throughout the recovery period which could continue for many years after the injury. The services required will change as the patient’s needs change over time. Survivors of severe TBI have to face the challenge of resuming a meaningful life both for themselves and their families.
The TUTOR system (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) has been in the forefront of medical tools used in TBI physical rehabilitation. Although not a cure all the TUTORs afford one of the best hopes of allowing the TBI patient to return movement to affected limbs.
The newly developed TUTORs have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. This training is customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with the TUTORs being used in clinics and in the patient’s home. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist via tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

The HandTutor as a Solution Used in MS Rehabilitation

2012-02-12T01:29:00.000-08:00

Published in SAGE JOURNALS on February 2, 2012 Alexa K Stuifbergen etal of the School of Nursing, University of Texas Austin conducted a study whose objective was to explore the feasibility and effects of a cognitive rehabilitation intervention i.e. Memory, Attention, and Problem Solving Skills for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MAPSS-MS) – for persons with multiple sclerosis on cognitive performance, self-efficacy for control of symptoms, memory, and neuropsychological competence in activities of daily living (ADL).
The conclusions reached were that the MAPSS-MS intervention was well-accepted and feasible by participants. Given the large relative increase in use of compensatory strategies by the intervention group, it holds promise for enhancing cognitive function in persons with multiple sclerosis.
It is known that rehabilitation aims to optimize motor, sensory and cognitive performance to allow the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks and improve quality of life.
The HANDTUTOR improves fine motor, sensory and cognitive impairments through intensive active exercises with augmented feedback. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training that is tailored to the patient’s performance. The HANDTUTOR system includes objective quantitative evaluations that provide a thorough documentation of patient performance and allow the therapist to customize the suitable rehabilitation program to the patient’s ability.
The HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are available in leading US and foreign hospitals, are useable by children as well as adults, and are certied by the FDA and CE.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Expanded Rehabilitation Facility Has Latest Equipment–Tutor System

2012-02-10T04:21:00.001-08:00

It was reported on Thursday, February 09, 2012 that the Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital is growing and expanding its programs and services.
The Malvern-based hospital recently renovated and expanded its acute rehabilitation facility. The center treats people recovering from strokes, brain injuries and other neurological disorders. It also treats those with more complex neurological issues.
Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital is growing and expanding its programs and services.
The Malvern-based hospital recently began a major renovation and expansion at its acute rehabilitation facility. When completed, the new Comprehensive Outpatient Neurorehabilitation Center will expand the treatment area to accommodate people recovering from strokes, brain injuries and other neurological disorders.
The center will utilize state-of-the-art technology to complement the physical and cognitive rehabilitation programs so that their patients can achieve the highest level of independence possible.”
The new center will feature a Vestibular Rehabilitation Suite dedicated to enhancing balance, strength and endurance and a Visual Perception Suite designed for those recovering from concussions. They are making a solid investment in technology and the latest equipment available that can provide their patients with the highest level of care possible in a convenient, comfortable setting.
Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital will incorporate the Smart EquiTest to assess balance control and posture stability. The hospital also will add the Neuro-Vision Rehabilitator, which incorporates Wii remotes and sensors to enhance auditory, balance and visual/motor abilities, and its third Dynavision device to address the growing number of patients being treated for concussion symptoms.
Being that Bryn Mawr will feature the latest and best rehabilitation equipment it would also include the TUTOR system.
Victims of stroke, TBI, SCI, upper and lower limb surgeries and a host of other physically disabling illnesses can benefit greatly from the TUTOR system which includes the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and the 3DTUTOR. The TUTOR system is amongst the most cost effective medical devices for rehabilitative therapy in existence.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback that encourages intensive practice and motor learning through intensive active exercises. The exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive intensive training tailored to the patient’s performance and motor and sensory and cognitive movement ability. Customized simple and powerful rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist the ability to adjust the program and exercise difficulty to the patient’s movement ability. The system also includes objective quantitative evaluations that allow the physiotherapist and his occupational therapist colleagues to report on the patients exercise progress. Telerehabilitation features allow the HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and the 3DTUTOR to be supported by the physical rehabilitation team when the patient is at home. This ensures that the patient is motivated to do more practice between treatments by the therapists. The TUTOR system is suitable for children as well as adults.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System one of the Most Promising Interventions for Elderly Physical Rehabilitation

2012-02-09T02:48:00.000-08:00

Michaela M. Pinter and, Michael Brainin, of the, Department for Clinical Neurosciences and Preventive Medicine, Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria published the following comment.
Stroke is known to be a leading cause of disability and therefore physical rehabilitation is a major part of patient care. Most interventions do not target elderly patients but there is unequivocal evidence to promote rehabilitation in multidisciplinary stroke units or integrated care of a multidisciplinary team in the community. Most research has focused on the effect of interventions on recovery in different forms of impairment and disability. The most promising options for motor recovery of the arm include constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), robotic-assisted strategies and devices like the TUTOR system which is the most cost effective.
Interventions to improve postural stability and gait include fitness training, high-intensity therapy, and repetitive-task training. However, information about the clinical effect of various strategies of cognitive rehabilitation and strategies for aphasia and dysarthria is scarce. Several large trials of rehabilitation practice are underway to test these interventions in the elderly, either alone or in combination with early mobilisation, cardiorespiratory fitness training and physical exercise.
The TUTOR system, consisting of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR, present an excellent supplement to new and traditional therapies for patients with incomplete paralysis. This is because the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the physical and occupational therapist to give patients customized, intensive and repetitive exercise practice according to their movement ability. In this way the dose and intensiveness of manual therapy can be increased as the patient is motivated to do the correct exercises without doing compensatory movement .
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTORand 3DTUTOR has been shown to improve range of motion as well as speed and accuracy of movement and improve functional movement ability in stroke patients and and those who experienced SCI, brain injury or other upper and lower limb disabilities., The TUTOR is being used in leading rehabilitation departments in the US and UK in addition to outpatient and private clinics.
Patients discharged from inpatient rehabilitation departments are benefiting from the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR in the comfort of their own homes. through tele rehabilitation. The system is available for children and adults and is certified by the FDA and CE. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM

How the Tutor System helps Elderly Stroke Victims

2012-02-08T08:33:00.001-08:00

A study of rehabilitation outcomes for elderly stroke patients was conducted by Samantha G. M. Yap, MBBS, MRCP, FAMS and Karen S. G. Chua, MBBS, MRCP, FRCP (Edin), FAMS.
The objective of the study was to identify and characterize injury variables as well as outcomes in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are 55 years and older and admitted to a rehabilitation unit. Fifty two individuals over a 4-year period were included in the study. It was discovered that the most common reason for injury was falls (61.5%).
The conclusions showed that most patients in this group had severe brain injury, which may have been due to a higher incidence of intracerebral hematoma. It also showed that older patients with TBI do benefit from physical rehabilitation with significant functional gains and a high rate of return to home and to community.
The Tutor system is the medical device of choice in stroke rehabilitation for the elderly as well as similar patients of younger ages. Consisting of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR these devices have been developed to teach children and adults how to reuse their affected joints after hand and wrist injuries such as trauma or stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, CP, MS, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and a host of other serious debilitating diseases that affect hand, wrist and arm movement ability.
The unique and successful devices use a dedicated software that utilize games to enhance and improve the patient’s functional movement ability by motivating the patient to do intensive movement practice which is the key element in an occupational and physical therapist’s treatment of movement impairments. The games motivate the patient to excel and thereby to improve their range of motion and general use of the hand or wrist.
The TUTORS use tele rehabilitation for those patients that are home bound or who have recovered sufficiently to get their treatment at home. Leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and outpatient clinics now use the devices which can treat adults as well. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Post Stroke Physical Therapy Includes Tutor System

2012-02-07T00:36:00.001-08:00

Until just recently, scientists usually thought that when a section of the brain was damaged, its function was lost forever. If stroke patients couldn’t use a weak or paralyzed arm they were taught to dress and bathe with their good arm. But now, sophisticated imaging tests of the brain have revealed that when nerve cells die, their functions are taken over by other cells.
This concept is known as neuroplasticity and has altered stroke rehabilitation considerably. “Now, we know that if you want to get motor recovery on the affected side, you have to use the affected side intensively and repetitively,” says Richard Zorowitz, MD, chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. “By doing that it stimulates the brain to make new connections.”
Neuroplasticity is the principle behind new techniques such as mirror therapy as well as several other new technologies. They include electrical stimulation of the damaged limbs and robots that help patients repeatedly move those limbs.
Additionally and at a more cost effective price the TUTOR system (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) has shown to be very successful in returning normal limb function to stroke victims.
The newly developed devices have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing.
The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patients ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. The TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Bobath or CIMT Therapies, Both Enhanced By the Tutor System

2012-02-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

Burcu Ersoz Huseyinsinoglu and Yakup Krespi of the Stroke Unit, Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey and Arzu Razak Ozdincler of the Istanbul University School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Istanbul, Turkey conducted a study involving a comparison between the Bobath concept and the constraint-induced movement (CIMT) therapy concept for rehabilitating stroke patients.
Their objective was to compare the effects of therapies on arm functional recovery among stroke patients with a high level of function on the affected side.
A total of 24 patients were used. The Bobath group was treated for 1 hour whereas the CIMT group received training for 3 hours per day during 10 consecutive weekdays.
The conclusions they drew from the study were that there was no basic difference between the two methods as far as improving functional ability, speed and quality of movement in the paretic arm among stroke patients with a high level of function. Constraint-induced movement therapy seemed to be a bit more efficient than the Bobath Concept in general.
When it comes to these methods the tool of choice is the HAND and ARM TUTOR.
The ARMTUTOR™ and HANDTUTOR devices have been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable glove and arm brace together with dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR™ and HANDTUTOR allow the physical and occupational therapists to report on and evaluate the patient’s functional rehabilitation progress. This allows the OT and PT to prescribe the right customized and motivating intensive exercise practice which is the cornerstone to manual rehabilitation therapy. Intensive repetition of movement is achieved through challenging games set to the patient’s movement ability. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
Tele rehabilitation allows the recovering patient to continue his physical therapy at home. All the TUTOR devices are FDA and CE certified. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Emulates Famous Theory

2012-02-06T01:16:00.001-08:00

Developed in the late 80s and early 90s, Winfried Hacker and his associates created a theory that today is applied in industry and science involving human action.
Hacker’s Action theory defines a task-oriented view of human behaviors. The main purpose is to describe how a person completes a task. There are certain repeated patterns during completion of each task.
There are also 3 levels of patterns throughout the completion of a task:
i) Motive-activity
ii) Goal-action
iii) Instrumental conditions-operations.
In this approach, accomplishment of a top-level activity depends on accomplishment of lower level actions followed by operations. Motives are inspirations causing a set of goals, and actions for these goals consist of various operations. Operations can be directly and subjectively observed and recorded.
The newly developed TUTOR system for use in physical rehabilitation following stroke, brain/spinal cord injury, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis and a host of other upper and lower limb disabilities apparently uses the Hacker Action Theory throughout its operation. The TUTORs, consisting of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are wearable braces or gloves that connect to dedicated software designed to encourage self movement (not robotic) by the patients. The customized software consists of a series of games that the patient has to attempt to complete–”Instrumental Conditions Operations” (iii as above).
Each game has a specific goal that allows the patient to accomplish further movement of his affected limb–”Goal Action” (ii as above).
The motivation for all these actions is to get the patient to recover his normal movement ability or as close to it as possible following the disabling event–”Motive Activity” (1 as above).
The TUTORs have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. This training is customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and are being used in clinics and in the patient’s home through the use of tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and are being used in clinics and in the patient’s home through the use of tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM

Newest Rehab Centers Need to Include Tutor System

2012-02-05T02:17:00.001-08:00

Philip Lim, writing for GMAONLINE on February 4, 2012 reports about the progress achieved in stroke rehabilitation.
A Singaporean retiree Soon Eng Sam, 70, suffered a stroke that paralysed the left side of his body.
He was bedridden for three months and had regained some limb functions on the affected side with conventional physical therapy. He now hopes to hasten his recovery with the help of new devices designed to make rehabilitation fun.
Soon is one of the lucky patients to use the Centre for Advanced Rehabilitation Therapeutics (CART) which is described as one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in Asia.
There is a race against time as more and more people are approaching the ”golden age” making a center like this more and more important.
It is estimated that in about 20 years twenty percent of the population will be 65 or older. Now it is only 9.3 percent of the population.
Chan Kay Fei, head of Rehabilitation Medicine at the government-run Tan Tock Seng Hospital feels that technology will be more and more vital and therapists will not be able to meet all the needs of the aging population.
Enter–new medical devices.
One of the most innovative systems to be developed in recent times is the TUTOR system.
Rehabilitation using the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR is included in the USA at major rehabiliaiton in-patient and out-patient clinics as well as at private physical therapy clinics. Many patients including those suffering from a stroke or cerebral palsy as well as those who have had a TBI or Spinal cord injury can also avail themselves of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR through the use of tele rehabilitation in addition to clinics and hospitals. These devices have been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the whole body including the upper and lower extremity. The system consists of ergonomic wearable devices and dedicated rehabilitation software that provide patient instructions and feedback to encourage intensive massed controlled exercise practice. In this way, the Tutor system allows for controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern which prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and therefore ensures better performance of functional tasks. This is important in the rehabilitation process for stroke, brain, spinal cord (SCI) and Cerebral Palsy in addition to other neurological and orthopedic injury and disease. Additional features of theTUTOR system include quantitative evaluation and objective follow up that is important in the physiotherapists treatment of the stroke patient.
The TUTORS are FDA and CE certified and are available for children as well as adults. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for further information.

Telerehabilitation-an Important Tool in Post Stroke Physiotherapy

2012-02-02T02:22:00.000-08:00

Telerehabilitation allows the rehabilitative process to continue remotely after being discharged from acute care. It can include complex tasks known to create rich conditions for neural charge. Researchers based in Minnesota performed a study to explore the feasibility of telerehabilitation to improve ankle dorsiflexion during the swing phase of gait in people with stroke. They also wanted to compare complex versus simple movements in the ankle to promote brain reorganization and behavioral change Their results are published in ”Physical Therapy”, February 2012.
Author Huiqiong Deng, MD, MS, from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and his team conducted the pilot randomized controlled trial that included training done in the participant’s home. Testing was done in different research labs involving multi-camera gait analysis and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
In the study there were 16 participants with chronic stroke and impaired ankle dorsiflexion who were randomly assigned to receive 4 weeks of telerehabilitation of the paretic ankle. Participants received either computerized complex movement training (track group) or simple movement training (move group). Behavioral changes were measured with the 10-m walk test and gait analysis using a motion capture system. Brain reorganization was measured with ankle tracking during fMRI.
The results showed that dorsiflexion during gait was significantly larger in the track group compared to the move group. Although the volume, percent volume, and intensity of cortical activation failed to show significant changes during the fMRI, the frequency count of the number of participants showing an increase versus a decrease in these values and from pretest to posttest, measurement was significantly differentin the two test groups. The track group decreased and the move group increased.
The researchers conclusion was that the results suggested that telerehabilitation that emphasizes complex task training with the paretic limb, is workable and can be effective in promoting further dorsiflexion in people that have chronic stroke.
Telerehabilitation has been one of the features and advantages of the TUTOR system. While recovering stroke patients will begin their physiotherapy in a hospital or clinic setting the TUTOR system has been designed to allow continuation of the therapy at home. The advantage is also available for those patients who live a distance from a PT clinic or are otherwise homebound.
Occupational and physical therapists use the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR – known as the TUTOR system – as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed TUTORS consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimize the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Knows No Discrimination

2012-02-01T13:07:00.001-08:00

A study by Susan D. Horn, PhD etal written for the ”Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation” in November 2010 about black-white differences in patient characteristics, treatments and outcomes for inpatient stroke rehabilitation describes racial differences in patient characteristics, physical therapy (PT), nontherapy ancillaries, occupational therapy (OT), as well as functional outcomes at discharge in rehabilitation after stroke.
Dr. Horn used six inpatient rehabilitation facilities.There were black and white patients subdivided in case-mix subgroups for moderate strokes and severe strokes
The results identified significant black-white differences in multiple patient characteristics and intensity of rehabilitation care. White subjects took longer from the stroke itself until rehabilitation admission and were more ambulatory before the stroke. Black subjects usually had more diabetes. In patients who had a moderate stroke, black subjects were younger, were more likely female, and had more hypertension and obesity with body mass index. For patients that had severe stroke, black subjects were less sick and had higher admission FIM scores. White subjects received more time per day of OT, although black subjects had longer median PT and OT time in a session.
Dr. Horn’s conclusions were that reasons for differences in rehabilitation for black and white subjects should be investigated further to understand clinicians’ choice of treatments by race.
In a world of vast differences in population categories it is refreshing to know that even in physical rehabilitation everyone is entitled to the best of care. The TUTOR system (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) is one such set of medical devices that knows no bounds in achieving excellent results. Created for children as well as adults and for women and men and of all races the TUTOR system is one of the most affordable and successful devices to be used in physiotherapy and rehabilitation clinics.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patients ability to move their limbs. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows him to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. The Tutor system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allows for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Baseball Pitcher and the Armtutor–a Winning Combination

2012-01-31T00:49:00.001-08:00

On January 30, 2012 Scott Hood, a staff writer for GamecockCentral.com writes about Nolan Belcher, star pitcher for the South Carolina baseball team, remembers the moment when he realized something was wrong with his left arm.
Belcher threw a pitch, just like he had done thousands of times in high school and college previously.
However this time he had a sharp twinge in his elbow. Belcher pitched two more times and then surrendered to the throbbing pain.
He knew his season was over.
A year later, Belcher recalls every detail of the fateful moment.
”I felt a little twinge in my elbow. I knew something wasn’t right. I tried twice more after that. But the pain was unbearable. I had to just walk off the mound. I had an MRI the next day and they said it was 98 percent torn.”
Belcher had Tommy John surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. All of a sudden, new elbow.
Months of rigorous rehab followed, a long, lonely and “miserable” process that culminated when Belcher took the mound for the first time in a year, throwing two hitless innings in the second scrimmage of preseason camp.
” (Rehab) is a miserable process. I was doing the same thing every day. It’s really tough mentally to go into the training room and try to get better each day.”
Using the ARMTUTOR and HANDTUTOR to improve usage of an injured limb is not a miserable process. In fact it can be somewhat enjoyable. Despite the fact that rehabilitation can be painful and lengthy in time spent, the TUTOR affords the patient a way of restoring movement ability. If Nolan Belcher had been using the HANDTUTOR or ARMTUTOR there would be games for him to use which would in essence provide him with the necessary therapy.
The ARMTUTOR and HANDTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable glove and arm brace together with dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR and HANDTUTOR system allows the physical and occupational therapist to report on and evaluate the patients functional rehabilitation progress. This allows the OT and PT to prescribe the right customized and motivating intensive exercise practice which is the cornerstone to manual rehabilitation therapy. Intensive repetition of movement is achieved through challenging games set to the patients movement ability. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
Telerehabilitation allows the recovering patient to continue his physical therapy at home.See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Elderly Can Maximize their Post Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy With the Tutor System

2012-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Michaela M. Pinter and Michael Brainin of the Department for Clinical Neurosciences and Preventive Medicine, Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria write about
“Rehabilitation after stroke in older people”
Because stroke is a leading cause of disability therefore rehabilitation is a major part of patient care. Interventions mostly do not target the aged patient but there is much evidence to promote rehabilitation in the multidisciplinary stroke units or have integrated care of a multidisciplinary team in every community. Most research has focused on the effect of such interventions on recovery in different forms of disability and impairment. One of the most promising options for motor recovery of the arm includes constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) and robotic-assisted strategies. Interventions to improve postural stability and gait include fitness training, high-intensity therapy, and repetitive-task training. However, information about the clinical effect of various strategies of cognitive rehabilitation and strategies for aphasia and dysarthria is scarce. Several trials of rehabilitation trials are underway to test these interventions in the elderly. This would be done either alone or in combination with early mobilization, cardiorespiratory physical exercise and fitness training.
The TUTOR system has been developed for all ages to improve their mobility and limb movement post stroke, SCI, brain injury, upper and lower limb surgeries and other disabling diseases.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful. In this way the Tutor system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allows for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR is now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Replaces Externally Operated Devices in Physiotherapy

2012-01-30T01:10:00.000-08:00

Rina Miller reports for Michigan Radio on January 29, 2012 about a hospital in Michigan that is working with yet again another robot that’s designed to help people who have spinal cord injuries to walk again.
DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan in Detroit has been chosen as one of 10 hospitals in the nation trying out Ekso – a battery-powered exoskeleton.
The ultimate goal is to have a home device for patients, but that technology likely won’t be ready for another couple of years. Insurance companies may balk at covering the exoskeleton because of its cost, which can be exorbitant.
While DMC and other rehabilitation Institutes wait for additional technology to make their product totally effective the TUTOR system has been around now for a few years already assisting brain injured patients as well as those suffering a myriad of other disabilities to regain mobility in their affected limbs. The TUTOR system is also one of the most cost effective medical devices to enter the field of rehabilitative therapy.
Occupational and physical therapists use the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR – known as the TUTOR system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work. This means that the patient himself, and not an outside influence, allows progress to be made in returning normal mobility to the affected limb.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed Tutors consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by tele physical therapy. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information..

Tutors’ Secret is to Have the Patient Use His Own Initiative to Achieve a Good Result in Physical Therapy

2012-01-29T04:51:00.000-08:00

Kurt Mossberg, a brain injury expert and a Professor in the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston department of physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences writes for CHRON.COM. on Friday, January 27, 2012 about the length and difficulty of physical therapy for brain injured patients.
In the U.S. there are 1.7 million new cases of TBI per year and even many more that are unreported. In contrast, there are approximately 11,000 new cases of multiple sclerosis and 40,000 new cases of Parkinson’s disease annually.
Fortunately, most TBIs are considered mild. However, a concussion, which is considered a mild brain injury, was once thought to have little to no residual effects. However, now we are learning about the long-term effects on behavior and cognition. Post-mortem studies of professional football players are finding that multiple hits to the head can result in changes to the brain that resemble Alzheimer’s disease.
Tremendous advances have been made in the treatment of TBI but there is still a long way to go in the area of post-acute and long-term rehabilitation. Robotic interventions are being explored in which isolated arm, wrist or hand movements are facilitated mechanically and even electrically. Leg movements and body weight can be controlled by a robotic device to help regain the ability to walk. However, some evidence suggests that a robotic intervention does not require enough effort on the part of the patient and the patient plays a less active role in the therapy session. The more the patient actively participates, the more likely there are to be long-term gains as the brain responds and adapts in a more normal fashion.
The TUTOR system has been created to bring the patient renewed limb mobility through his own efforts via these innovative devices. When the TBI or stroke patient has regained sufficient strength he can connect the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR to the dedicated software that has been created.
The TUTOR devices allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimize the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. All this is done through the patient’s initiative versus a robot doing it for him. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE and can be used in tele physiotherapy from the patient’s home.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutors Can Shorten Recovery Period for TBI Patients

2012-01-28T23:45:00.001-08:00

Bill Miston reports on Saturday, Jan. 28,2012 in Green Bay, Wisconsin that the recovery process from brain injury is usually long and slow.
It’s reported that each year more than 1.5 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury or TBI.That equals one person each 19 seconds. The leading cause is car accidents.
Cody Schneider, 22, of Oconto Falls is one of those statistics.
Cody spends three days a week at a rehabilitation center in Green Bay.
Right now he and 12 other brain injury rehabilitation program participants are working on just simple word problems.
The Medical Director of the Brain Injury Program at N.E.W. Curative Rehabilitation, Patricia Neuman, says each brain injury is different than another and there are a lot of unknowns.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), although having a long recovery period, can have that somewhat shortened by making use of the TUTOR system when movement of limbs is affected.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR, for example, has become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for TBI and stroke victims and those recovering from spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. The HANDTUTOR is a hand therapy tool used by Occupational therapists. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually accomplishing. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for the patient to again move their limb in a normal fashion. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in getting them to move their affected limb again. Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Effective for all Ages

2012-01-27T03:38:00.000-08:00

Representing the Austrian Stroke Unit Registry Dr.M. Knoflach, etal from the Department of Neurology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
conducted a study to analyze the association between patient age and good functional outcome following ischemic stroke with a special focus on younger patients who were underrepresented numerically in previous evaluations.
The conclusions they reached were that age was a highly significant inverse predictor of good functional results after ischemic stroke independent of the characteristics, severity, and complications. The age-outcome association exhibited a nonlinear scale and extended to young stroke patients.
The TUTOR system which was recently developed has been functioning well for stroke patients of all ages. The TUTORS are designed to assist physical rehabilitation even for children beginning at age 4.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR, for example, has become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for TBI and stroke victims and those recovering from spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. The HANDTUTOR is a hand therapy tool used by Occupational therapists. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable gloves and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually accomplishing. The dedicated software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

”Dancing” with the Tutor System for Parkinson’s Patients

2012-01-25T06:51:00.001-08:00

An interesting study was published in the ”Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair Journal” by Ryan P. Duncan, MPT and
Gammon M. Earhart, PhD of the Washington University School of Medicine, Program in Physical Therapy in St Louis, MO in January 2012.
Tango dancing has been effective in improving measures of physical function in people with Parkinson disease (PD). However, all previous studies were institution-based, tested participants on medication, and employed short-term interventions. The Objective of this study was to determine the effects of a 12-month community-based tango program for individuals with PD on disease severity and physical function. Participants were assessed off anti-Parkinson medication. The Conclusions were that improvements in the Tango group were apparent off medication, suggesting that long-term participation in tango may modify progression of disability in PD.
While the ”dance” therapy approach is interesting it is known that the ”TUTOR” approach also has a very good track record of achieving desired results for Parkinson’s patients.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from Parkinson’s, brain and spinal injuries, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing. The custom made software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patient’s ability to move their affected limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that lets him understand which effort is more successful in allowing him to move his affected limb again. In this way the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Senator’s Full Recovery May Be Dependent on the LegTutor and ArmTutor

2012-01-25T00:57:00.001-08:00

According to the Chicago Sun Times on January 24, 2012 it was reported that U.S. Senator Mark Kirk R-Ill had a stroke and could have trouble with his left leg as he makes a recovery. Dr. Richard Fessler, neurosurgeon, said that a 4-inch by 8-inch section of his skull was removed to reduce swelling on his brain.
“Sen. Kirk has suffered a stroke to the right side of his brain, which I believe will affect his ability to move his left arm and possibly his left leg, and possibly will involve some facial paralysis,” said Dr. Fessler.
Assuming the Senator will not have complete paralysis on his left side he will be able to regain full use of his left arm and leg by incorporating the use of the ARMTUTOR and LEGTUTOR.
The ARMTUITOR and LEGTUTOR are ergonomic wearable arm and leg braces connected to dedicated rehabilitation software. The TUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. This means that the TUTOR system allows the physical therapist to prescribe a rehabilitation program customized to the patient’s arm, knee and hip movement ability at their stage of rehabilitation. The ARMTUTOR and LEGTUTOR use biofeedback to keep the patient motivated to do the exercise practice designed in the form of challenging games. The devices are suitable for a wide variety of other neurological and orthopedic injury and diseases as well as post trauma and orthopedic surgery.
The ARMTUTOR and LEGTUTOR are also used by physical and occupational therapists in combination with the HANDTUTOR and 3DTUTOR for upper and lower extremity rehabilitation. The TUTOR system is used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and have full FDA and CE certification. They are designed for children and adults and can be used at home supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Brain Injury followed by the Tutor Devices Can Assure Progress towards Recovery

2012-01-24T07:00:00.001-08:00

Patrick Cronin writes for the seacoastonline.com on January 24, 2012 about a tragic but yet hopeful story.
Bill Gott was told by the doctors that his daughter was seriously injured and may never recover after a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 95.
If she lived, her life would have no value, added the doctor.
Myla, the daughter, didn’t give up that night, and neither did her father. Gott has spent 3 years at Myla’s bedside. He has seen much progress as time passed.
Myla’s brain injury is known as ”diffuse axonal injury”. The violent force of the accident caused axons to break. These are parts of the nerve cells in the brain that allow neurons to send messages back and forth to other parts of the body. Myra requires the use of a wheelchair and is unable to talk.
Experts believe the brain can rewire itself through repetitive and aggressive therapies.
The TUTOR system was created to assist brain injury victims to return to a semblance of normalcy in their lives. The TUTORS are designed to encourage intensive and aggressive active exercises to the affected limb.
The TUTORS allow the patient to do these exercises so that it is customized to their movement ability.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually accomplishing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again.
Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. Tele rehabilitation allows for the home bound or much recovered patient to continue the therapy at home with professional therapists at the other end monitoring and guiding the therapy.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

CP Patients Receive Therapy With the Tutor System

2012-01-23T01:00:00.001-08:00

As reported in THE PATRIOT LEDGER.COM on January 22, 2012
Matt Milligan was diagnosed with Ataxic Cerebral Palsy at age 2. This disease results from damage to the cerebellum, the brain’s major center for coordination and balance, and is one of the rarest forms of cerebral palsy.
Patients diagnosed with this condition experience a disturbed and uncoordinated sense of balance and sometimes a problem with depth perception. Also since Ataxia involves the hands, it makes fine motor control activities i.e.writing…or taking pictures…very difficult.
Matt said. “Living with CP is a challenge,” “But I think you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Matt was told he would never walk but he ran a 15 mile race at age 9, which he has done each year since. Diagnosed recently with a muscle condition that locks up the right side of his body when he walks, Matt still doesn’t miss a day of skateboarding or riding on his bike or living the lifestyle of other fearless 15-year-olds.
The HANDTUTOR was developed specifically for patients that suffer from diseases like CP as well as from other physical disabilities.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted movement they are actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing the patients to move their affected limb again. The TUTOR system thereby provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

An Top Rated Physical Rehabilitation Clinic

2012-01-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

What should an excellent physical rehabilitation clinic include?
1) It should be in a building that is centrally located so patients can have access to it without difficulty.
2) It should have a convenient parking area with suitable ramps for wheelchair bound patients.
3) It should be staffed by well trained and certified physiotherapists, clinicians and technicians. They should not only be expert in their field but should also have a desirable personality that can make the patients feel comfortable and leave their session with a good feeling that someone cares about them and their issues.
4) Above all the clinic should be immaculate and well equipped. This equipment should include the latest devices to assist the patient to return to normal activity.
Such devices should include the TUTOR system. These recently developed devices include the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR.
The HANDTUTOR is a unique ergonomic glove and the ARMTUTOR is a safe, comfortable elbow brace as the LEGTUTOR is a leg brace. The 3DTUTOR is a wireless motion feedback device that can be positioned on discreet joints of the head, trunk or upper and lower extremities. All of these are connected to powerful dedicated software that includes a variety of challenging games. The games are structured to allow the patient to optimize his own power and thereby to develop his potential in restoring normal mobility to an affected limb. The devices are designed to improve the quality of life of patients that have experienced a stroke, brain or spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Radial and Ulnar nerve or Brachial Plexus injury. They are also effective for post hand or tendon surgery as well as all upper and lower limb disabilities.
The rehabilitation system optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance which allows the therapist to evaluate and objectively quantify.
For more information see WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM

LegTutor Assists Stroke Patients With Balance and Telerehabilitation

2012-01-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

A study was published in the journal “Disability Rehabilitation” on August 25,2011 about “Telerehabilitation Using Virtual Reality That Can Improve Balance in Stroke Patients. It was written by I. Cikajlo and M. Rudolf etal of the University Rehabilitation Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia. They state that the objective of telerehabilitation is a continuation of the rehabilitation process in the patients’ home.
The study also compares the balance training in a clinical environment with the telerehabilitation approach where the physiotherapists and physicians can follow the progress remotely., The telerehabilitation approach in VR supported balance training and improved balance in stroke patients. It had a similar effect on the patients’ postural functional improvement just as conventional balance training in clinical settings. However, when balance training is continued in the patient’s home instead of the hospital, it would eventually decrease the number of outpatient visits, reduce related costs and enable the treatment of a larger number of patients.
The TUTOR system has been created to achieve balance therapy for stroke patients. This works by placing a LEGTUTOR or 3DTUTOR on the less impaired leg and/or the more impaired leg. (The LEGTUTOR is an ergonomic wearable leg brace with dedicated rehabilitation software. The LEGTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. This means that the LEGTUTOR system allows the physical therapist to prescribe a leg rehabilitation program customized to the patient’s knee and hip movement ability at their stage of rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR uses biofeedback to keep the patient motivated to do the practice session with the exercises designed in the form of challenging games. These games are suitable for a wide variety of other neurological and orthopedic injuries and diseases as well.)
Then the patient stands on one leg (either impaired or healthy/more healthy) and proceeds to play one of the TUTOR created games such as: ”darts”. This way they strengthen work on balance + cognition. Telerehabilitation allows the patient who has improved from the original event or is unable to come to the clinic to continue his therapy from home.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Successful for Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation

2012-01-22T01:04:00.001-08:00

There exists a disability called acquired brain injury (ABI), meaning it occurred after birth. ABIs happen as a result of traumatic brain injuries — physical trauma caused by falls, car accidents and assaults — or non-traumatic brain injuries, which can be caused by strokes, brain tumors, infection or substance abuse.
The challenges stemming from brain injuries vary from person to person.
The difficulties can be temporary or permanent, depending on how severe the brain injury was, but there are physical changes, cognitive changes and emotional or behavioural changes. From a physical point of view, there might be things like fatigue, sleep difficulties, certainly mobility issues.
When mobility issues exist the TUTOR system is very helpful.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement theyare actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patients ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. In this way the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

ArmTutor Aids in Stroke Rehabilitation With Games

2012-01-20T04:18:00.000-08:00

Published in the Journal:”Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation” ,Nov-Dec 2011
Sarah O. Schuck, BA, OTS etal of the Department of Occupational Therapy, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio discuss a pilot study that evaluates the efficacy of treatment gaming devices on 2 chronic stroke survivors. The conclusions they reached were that the participants experienced increased quality of life, a greater propensity to use their affected arm, and enhanced task performance without exhibiting motor changes. Additionally, the Core treatment gaming device was reported by the participants to be very motivating as a modality in the therapy setting.
The recently developed ARMTUTOR uses a series of custom made games to encourage stroke victims to use their affected limb(s).
The ARMTUTOR system has been created to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder, elbow and wrist or upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows Physical and occupational therapists (OT) (PT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patient‘s movement ability and report on the patient’s exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice through the use of various games. The games are at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injury and disease.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the occupational or physical therapist and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatment. The system provides detailed performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Overall. controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired and compensatory joint performance of functional tasks movement pattern and this will ensure better results.
The ARMTUTOR and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Multiple Sclerosis and the Tutor Sytem

2012-01-19T05:01:00.000-08:00

According to a study by A. Solari MD etal from the Istituto Nazionale Neurologico in Milan, Italy, physical rehabilitation has a positive effect on disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients
Although physical rehabilitation is commonly administered to MS patients, its efficacy has not been established.
The study assessed the efficacy of an inpatient physical rehabilitation program on impairment, disability, and
quality of life of MS patients with a randomized, single-blind, controlled trial.
The results showed that there were no changes in impairment that occurred in either group.
The study group improved in overall health-related quality of life.
The conclusions reached were that despite unchanging impairment, physical rehabilitation resulted in an improvement in disability and had a positive impact on mental components of health-related quality of life perception at 3 and 9 weeks.
The TUTOR system has shown itself to be an effective rehabilitation tool for MS patients.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. This training is tailored and customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with the TUTORS being used in clinics and in the patient’s home. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist offering tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Hand Function, Ulnar Nerve Injuries Treated by Hand and Arm Tutor

2012-01-19T01:49:00.001-08:00

According to an article in the ”Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care” written by Drs.Sandra Kalmijn, Paul D.Kuypers etal
Forearm and wrist injuries are a common cause of morbidity and are associated with suboptimal recovery of hand function. The authors discuss comparisons and outcome after median, ulnar, or combined median-ulnar nerve injuries.
They concluded that peripheral nerve injuries at the forearm level can bring a result in substantial functional loss and have major social consequences. They identified factors influencing return to work that can be used to optimize postoperative treatment strategy.
When it comes to physical rehabilitation for forearm or Ulnar nerve surgeries the HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are among the best tools available to return the patient to normal movement ability.
The TUTORS have been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the whole body including the upper and lower extremity. The TUTORS consist of ergonomic wearable braces and include dedicated rehabilitation software that provide patient instructions and feedback to encourage intensive controlled exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR is used to give hand therapy to patients with Radial/Ulnar nerve and Brachial Plexus injuries, SCI, Parkinson’s disease, CP, MS,or stroke . Hand, arm and leg surgery rehabilitation are also assisted by the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR. The TUTOR system allows for controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern which prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement.
The new TUTOR system is a medical, physical and occupational therapy rehabilitation device that is used by children as well as adults and through the use of telerehabilitation. They are FDA and CE certified. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Functional Recovery Following Stroke Assisted by the Tutor System

2012-01-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

In the November, December 2011 issue of the Journal:Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation there is an article written by Drs. Eric Wade and Carolee J. Winstein of the
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
To promote functional recovery after a stroke it requires innovative and collaborative approaches to neurorehabilitation research. Task-oriented training (TOT) approaches that include challenging, adaptable, and meaningful activities have led to successful outcomes in several definitive trials. This, along with recent technological advances of virtual reality and devices like the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR, provide an environment for furthering clinical research in neurorehabilitation.
Both virtual reality and the TUTORS make use of multimodal sensory interfaces to affect human behavior. In the therapeutic setting, these systems can be used to quantitatively monitor, manipulate, and augment the users’ interaction with their environment, with the goal of promoting functional recovery.
The TUTORS provide just such functional recovery following a stroke. The innovative devices include challenging activities leading to successful outcomes.
The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are motion capture gloves and arm and leg braces that implement an impairment oriented training based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive and repetitive exercises. The exercise practice is the physical and occupational therapist’s tool to improve the patient’s sensory, motor and cognitive movement ability. The TUTORs use movement feedback and dedicated rehabilitation games to make sure that the exercises performed by the patient who had a stroke, spinal cord/brain injury , Cerebral palsy, or after orthopedic surgery and trauma are challenging and motivating to the patient. This is because, the physiotherapist or occupational therapist can tailor the repetitive exercises to the patient’s exercise performance ability. Currently part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals the TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home through the use of telerehabilitation using the internet. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for further information

How the Tutors Are Used in Rehabilitative Therapy for Non-Restrained Limbs

2012-01-18T01:21:00.000-08:00

Reported on Jan 17, 2012 for EXPRESSINDIA.COM
Scientists say, Did you break your dominant right hand? Don’t worry about it. Your brain will know it and will compensate for it by enabling you to function better like a lefty.
Researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland found that when people have a sling or cast on their dominant hand after an injury, brain areas that are responsible for compensating for the injured side build up.
“LiveScience” reported that the researchers also saw decreases in the size of brain areas sidelined because of the cast .
The researchers studied 10 right-handed people who had an injury to their upper right arm and had to wear a cast or sling for at least 2 weeks, restricting that hand to little or no movement during that time period.
Because of the restriction, the participants had to use their normal left hand for all daily activities, such as using a toothbrush, writing or eating. None of the participants had a brain injury, nerve injury or psychiatric disease.
Researchers took magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the subjects’ brains to measure the amount of gray and white matter in the brain within two days of the injury and then 16 days after they began wearing the sling.
The researchers also tested the participants’ motor skills, including their arm-hand and wrist-finger movements.
Grey and white brain matter in the brain increased or decreased depending on whether the hand was restrained or not. There was an increase if the hand was unrestricted and there was a decrease if the hand was immobilized.
The structural changes in the brain are associated with skill transfer from the right hand to the left hand.
The findings are crucial to better understand or adjust rehabilitation therapy for people who have suffered strokes or other disabling injuries or illnesses.
(It isn’t known whether the brain matter changes were permanent or not.)
When there is an affected limb due to an injury or disease the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and LEGTUTOR have shown to be superb medical devices in physical rehabilitation.
These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted movement they are actually accomplishing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success to the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows him to understand which effort is more successful in moving their affected limb again. Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Stroke Patient’s Extremity Movements Improved with Arm and Leg Tutors

2012-01-17T04:54:00.001-08:00

Debbie Rand, OT, PhD etal of the Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel describes a study of post stroke functionality.
It is known that inpatient rehabilitation may enhance an individual’s functional ability after stroke however it is not known whether these improvements are accompanied by an increase in daily use of the arms and legs. It was determined to compare the values of inpatient rehabilitation with community-dwelling older adults. The results showed that stroke patients demonstrated a significant increase in mobility function, and this was accompanied by an increase in daily walking over the entire day as well as in PT. However, increases in daily walking were found predominantly in patients who were wheelchair users at the time of admission. Despite significant improvements in paretic hand function, no increase in daily use of the paretic or nonparetic hand was found over the entire day or in PT. The conclusions reached were that a disparity between functional recovery and increases in daily use of the upper and lower extremities was found during inpatient stroke rehabilitation.
The newly developed HAND, ARM and LEG TUTORS have shown a remarkable success rate in improving the normal mobility of stroke patients.
The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life.
The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutors Effective in Constraint Induced Movement Therapy

2012-01-17T01:45:00.000-08:00

Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer for MedPage Today on January 16, 2012 discusses a new theory that is being published media wide but really is a rehash of the well established CIMT method of limb rehabilitation. If one wears a cast or splint it will cause the brain to rapidly shift its resources to make righties function better as lefties. This according to recent studies by researchers. Nicolas Langer, MSc, of the University of Zurich in Switzerland reported that right-handed individuals whose dominant arm had to be immobilized after an injury had a drop in cortical thickness in the area that controls primary motor and sensory areas for the hand. During the same two-week period, gray and white matter increased in the areas that controlled the uninjured left hand, suggesting “skill transfer from the right to the left hand,” as reported in the Jan. 17 issue of Neurology. Performance on motor skill tests showed a big boost in scores for the left hand over the two weeks after injury presumably from compensating for the immobilized right hand in daily activities. Likewise, Constraint Induced Movement Therapy(CIMT) is a unique treatment approach used for rehabilitation of the upper limb (arm/hand) following neurological damage. After a neurological event such as a stroke it is common for people to develop a tendency not to use their weaker arm which can lead to learned non-use or in some cases neglect of the weaker arm. CIMT aims to increase the amount of use and quality of movement of the weaker arm by following a structured treatment program developed by researchers in the USA. The treatment program works by producing ‘rewiring’ of the brain; this means that a larger part of the brain becomes active when producing movement of the weaker arm. This program is underpinned by several research studies which have proven benefits, particularly for stroke patients. The program involves a number of components in particular the use of repetitive task-oriented training. This involves the person practicing a series of short tasks with the weaker arm for several hours a day over a two to three week period under supervision by a trained therapist. Whilst using the weaker arm the unaffected side is restrained, for example by wearing a mitt or glove to continually remind the person to use the weaker arm. The person is encouraged to use the weaker arm outside of the treatment program for functional tasks at home whilst wearing the glove or mitt and is provided with a series of home assignments to complete. Research has proven that such intensive and repetitive use of the weaker arm over this short period leads to increased use of the weaker arm as well as improved quality of movement . The ARMTUTOR and HANDTUTOR have been at the forefront of physical therapy rehabilitation for stroke victims as well as for a host of other physical disabilities using CIMT. The TUTOR system consists of ergonomic wearable devices together with powerful dedicated rehabilitation software. The system is indicated for patients in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction. The TUTOR system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. Controlled exercise practice will help to prevent the development of compensatory movement patterns. The dedicated software allows the therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the therapist can objectively and quantitatively evaluate and report on the treatment progress. The rehabilitation system optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTOR system is FDA and CE certified. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutors Help Cognitive Developement

2012-01-16T05:13:00.001-08:00

16 January 2012
San Antonio Military Medical Center researchers are conducting a trial for a new therapy to improve some of the chronic symptoms of traumatic brain injury.
The study is meant to determine the best treatment for combat soldiers who are suffering from difficulties with attention, concentration, memory and judgement.
Douglas B Cooper,the trial leader, explained that the Study of Cognitive Rehabilitation Effectiveness (Score) is designed to treat long term patients .
He explained that there have been many interventions used to help people with traumatic brain injury during the first few days after the incident.
“We don’t have as many good interventions later on – six to twenty four months post-injury,” he said.
He explained that cognitive rehabilitation involves a number of interventions designed to help people with brain injuries manage, reduce, or cope with cognitive deficits.
The TUTORS have been designed to optimize cognitive performance and also to better perform everyday functional tasks.
Rehabilitation using the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR is being done in the USA at major rehabiliaiton in-patient and out-patient clinics as well as at private physical therapy clinics. Many patients including stroke and cerebral palsy as well as those who have had a TBI or Spinal cord injury can also avail themselves of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR through the use of tele rehabilitation.
The TUTORS have been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the whole body including the upper and lower extremity. The system consists of ergonomic wearable devices and dedicated rehabilitation software that provide patient instructions and feedback to encourage intensive massed controlled exercise practice. In this way, the TUTOR system allows for controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern which prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and therefore ensures better performance of functional tasks. This is important in stroke, brain, spinal cord (SCI) and Cerebral palsy rehabilitation in addition to other neurological and orthopedic injury and diseases. Additional features of the TUTOR system include quantitative evaluation and objective follow up that is important in the physiotherapists treatment of the stroke patient. The TUTORS are FDA and CE certified. The new medical devices,the TUTOR system, are available for children as well as adults. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutors Afford Meaningful Physical Activity to CP Patients

2012-01-16T04:39:00.001-08:00

Dr. Deborah Thorpe writes that sixty percent of persons with cerebral palsy (CP) in the United States are over the age of fifteen with life expectancies similar to those of the unaffected population but still strongly related to a degree of severity. Cooper et. al. in a study about physical activity and health among people with disabilities found that activity level was significantly correlated with years of survival in adults who had CP. Other investigators concluded that adults with cerebral palsy were probably not engaging in sufficient physical activity to produce the improvements in fitness that would be necessary to experience health benefits.
A few studies have addressed progressive strength training on land in adults with CP with significant improvements in muscle strength, walking speed, and gross motor movement. However water is being used as an optional exercise medium to land with this population. By utilizing the beneficial properties of water such as buoyancy, neutral warmth, and variable resistance and eliminating the negative effects of gravity, persons with CP can optimize their full movement potential in such an aquatic environment while maintaining joint integrity.
The TUTORS (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) afford such strength training as may be necessary to achieve normal movement ability.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for CP, brain and spinal cord injury patients as well as a host of other joint disabling illnesses. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback that encourages intensive practice and motor learning through active exercises. The exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive training tailored to the patient’s performance, motor, sensory and cognitive movement ability. Customized, simple but powerful rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist the ability to adjust the program and exercise difficulty to the patient’s movement ability. The system also includes objective quantitative evaluations that allow the physiotherapist and his occupational therapist colleagues to report on the patient’s exercise progress. Telerehabilitation features allow the HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and the 3DTUTOR to be supported by the physical rehabilitation team when the patient is at home. This ensures that the patient is motivated to do more practice between treatments by the therapists. The TUTOR system is suitable for children as well as adults. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

How the Tutor System Can Be Effective in Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy

2012-01-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

The following discussion was posted on January 15, 2012 for the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation.
Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), has been used in the adult stroke population for years but recently, this type of therapy has come to the attention of therapists who work with children who suffer from hemiplegia (weakness on one side of the body because of an injury to the brain)., CIMT focuses on regaining movement on the affected side of the body by restraining the non-affected arm, thereby forcing the child to learn to move the affected arm more effectively and efficiently.
There is increasing evidence that this therapy may result in positive structural changes in the brain, which prompted Brady and Garcia (Dev Disabil Res Rev 2009), to comment that CIMT is an example of an emerging shift in rehabilitation of CNS injury, from an emphasis on compensatory skills to a hope for partial restoration., Research reports have generally shown a favorable response to CIMT, although questions remain about what is the critical level of intensity of therapy necessary for a positive effect i.e. how much? how frequently?. Just like with any new therapy, another important question is whether it is better to what is already available and being used, perhaps at less expense.The Tutors are one of the most cost effective physical rehabilitation systems.
A recent article by Wallen and colleagues where they compared a modified form of CIMT with intensive occupational therapy on normal daily activities and upper limb outcomes in children with hemiplegic CP concluded that modified constraint-induced therapy is no more effective than intensive occupational therapy.(Dev Med Child Neurol 2011).
Whether Wallen or the study by Brady and Garcia is correct the TUTOR system (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) is in the forefront of physical rehabilitation for children from the age of 4 or 5 receiving their therapy. The HANDTUTOR and its sister devices have been developed to teach children how to reuse their joints after hand and wrist injuries such as trauma or after hand surgery e.g. tendon transfer. In addition stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, CP, MS, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and a host of other serious debilitating diseases that affect hand and wrist and arm movement ability can be treated with the HANDTUTOR and the ARMTUTOR.
The unique and successful devices use a dedicated software that utilizes games to enhance and improve the patient’s functional movement ability. It does this by motivating the patient to do intensive movement practice which is the key element in an occupational and physical therapist’s treatment of movement impairments. The games, such as, Car Race, Snowball, Catch The Ball, Sky Defender and others captivate and motivate the child to excel and thereby to improve their range of motion and general use of the hand or wrist.
The TUTORS also use tele rehabilitation for those patients that are home bound or who have recovered sufficiently to get their treatment at home. Leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and outpatient clinics now use the devices which can treat adults as well. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

HandTutor Aims to Optimize Cognitive Performance for TBI Victims

2012-01-15T02:08:00.001-08:00

Elaine Sanchez reported in a Jan.12 news story for the American Forces Press Service Jan 15, 2012 in a report for the Office of Health and Safety about the work at the San Antonio, Texas Military Medical Center. It is aimed at finding the best treatment for veterans experiencing traumatic brain injury symptoms as much as two years after their injuries.
A study is being conducted by a team at the San Antonio Military Medical Center where they are trying out cognitive rehabilitation therapy to improve chronic, mild symptoms of traumatic brain injuries.
Sanchez reported the Study of Cognitive Rehabilitation Effectiveness trial, will look for the best treatment methodology for combat veterans who experience symptoms from three months to two years after their injuries.
Douglas B. Cooper, the study’s leader and a clinical neuropsychologist for the medical center’s Traumatic Brain Injury Service, said they have various ways of helping a TBI patient in the first few days following a concussion. However, there are fewer good interventions at their disposal six months, a year, or two years afterward according to her article. Cooper is the director of the Military Brain Injury Rehabilitation Research Consortium.
Cooper and his colleagues will treat 160 patients in 6 week cycles during a period of 2 to 3 years, using interventions that may include individual appointments,computer treatments, group sessions, or behavioral health. Her article says a DoD database shows that more than 202,000 members of the military suffered a traumatic brain injury between the years 2000 and 2010 while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The HANDTUTOR improves fine motor, sensory and cognitive impairments through intensive active exercises with augmented feedback.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapy. These innovative devices implement an impairment based exercise program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. Manual therapy is the provision of exercise practice by an occupational and physical therapist. As the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the PT and OT to customize the exercises, the patient is given motivating tasks through computer games with biofeedback that give them the correct dose of manual therapy. This means that the Parkinson’s, stroke, CP or TBI patient is given exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance.
Even patients with severe movement dysfunction can benefit from intensive exercise practice as the TUTOR system picks up even small angles of joint movement. The TUTOR system also allows the OT and PT to make objective reports and evaluations on the patient’s movement ability so his progress can be maintained and shown to both himself and his family. This is also a strong motivation to carry on training and improve movement and functional everyday living ability. The HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are a major part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals. The TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home care supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System One of the Best Tools in Physical Rehabilitation for TBI Patients

2012-01-15T01:07:00.001-08:00

The causes of traumatic brain injuries are as different as the group gathered at the Central Coast Center for Independent Living. But the common thread is the string of symptoms and deficits — memory problems, disorganized thinking, a constant sense of feeling overwhelmed, loss of normal limb mobility — that they will cope with for the rest of their lives.
The initial intensity of those symptoms usually decreases, with neurologists agreeing the most significant recovery occurs within the first 2 or 3 years. But after that, whatever level of recovery survivors achieve largely depends on their ability to develop coping strategies that are effective.
Brain injuries are classified into 3 categories- mild, moderate or severe .The symptoms range from confusion and lightheadedness following a concussion to coma following an attack or assault — and the prognosis for recovery becomes worse depending on the severity.
Most people who have had a serious TBI will experience changes in their behavioral and emotional changes and cognitive skills including:
Memory
Judgment
Attention or concentration
Multitasking
Organization
Decision making
Difficulty deciphering nonverbal signals
Trouble following conversations
Difficulty in social situations
Difficulty with self-control
Verbal or physical outbursts
Irritability
Lack of empathy
When TBI causes lack of mobility in one or more of the patient‘s limbs the TUTOR system has become one of the best tools to improve that mobility.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR, for example, have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for TBI and stroke victims and those recovering from spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. The HANDTUTOR is a hand therapy tool used by Occupational therapists. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually accomplishing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

ArmTutor Noted as the Proper Intervention in Post Stroke Therapy

2012-01-13T02:10:00.001-08:00

Hilde M. Feys, PT etal of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, University of Leuven , Belgium write about the Effects of a Therapeutic Intervention for the Hemiplegic Upper Limb in the Acute Phase After Stroke.

Arm function recovery is notoriously poor in stroke patients. The effect of treatment modalities, particularly those directed at improving upper limb function, has been studied primarily in chronic stroke patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a specific therapeutic intervention on arm function in the acute phase after stroke.
The Conclusions reached were that adding a specific intervention during the acute phase after stroke improved motor recovery, which was apparent 1 year later. These results emphasize the potential beneficial effect of therapeutic interventions for the arm.
The ARMTUTOR is the newly developed intervention to train and exercise the functionability of the affected limb.
The ARMTUTOR™ and HANDTUTOR system (as well as the LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable glove and arm brace together with dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR™ and HANDTUTOR system allow the physical and occupational therapist to report on and evaluate the patients functional rehabilitation progress. This allows the OT and PT to prescribe the right customized and motivating intensive exercise practice which is the cornerstone to manual rehabilitation therapy. Intensive repetition of movement is achieved through challenging games set to the patients movement ability.
The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks. Telerehabilitation allows the recovering patient to continue his physical therapy at home.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Lack of Balance Can be Alleviated with the Tutor System

2012-01-13T01:15:00.001-08:00

Many patients suffering from neurological illnesses such as stroke, head or spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, CP, MS and others also suffer from a lack of balance. The TUTOR system has been created recently to assist in alleviating the symptoms of this problem.
To improve balance the patient has to do repetitive exercise practice in order to increase their motor sensory movement ability. The TUTOR uses the concept of repetitive massed practice through rehabilitation games that are customized to the patients movement ability by the OT and PT. The TUTOR System - HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allows the PT and OT to set the rehabilitation game to the patient’s movement ability. While doing the exercise practice with the TUTORS the patient will receive augmented motion feedback on the position of their limb. The OT and PT will therefore use the games with balance exercises and the patient will receive augmented motion feedback on the position of their limb. By practicing the controlled exercises prescribed by the OT and PT the patient will improve their balance and proprioception ability. The resulting improvement in the patient’s movement ability including balance which will allow the patient to better do functional tasks such as walking. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

HandTutor Shows Improvement in Cognitive Impairments

2012-01-12T23:43:00.001-08:00

By Elaine Sanchez for the American Forces Press Service

SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 12, 2012 – A military study is aiming to aid troops with mild TBI. Experts at the San Antonio Military Medical Center here have launched a military study aimed at improving results for active and non active service members suffering from traumatic brain injury.

The Study of Cognitive Rehabilitation Effectiveness, aka the SCORE trial, is examining cognitive rehabilitation therapy’s value as a treatment for veterans with mild TBI.

The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments joined on this study to determine the best treatment for combat and non combat troops who are experiencing mild TBI symptoms — such as difficulties with attention, concentration, judgment and memory. according to Douglas B. Cooper, the study’s clinical neuropsychologist for the Traumatic Brain Injury Service.

The goal of the trial is to determine if cognitive rehabilitation therapy improves chronic mild TBI symptoms and, if so, which interventions work best.

Cognitive rehabilitation, Cooper explained, includes a variety of interventions that help the patient with brain injuries to reduce, manage or cope with cognitive deficits. It’s mostly used to treat patients with brain injuries, whether they are from concussions, penetrating brain injuries or strokes.

Cooper said his team will look at each treatment to see which interventions have proven most successful and for whom.

The HANDTUTOR system implements an impairment based rehabilitation program with augmented feedback and encourages motor learning. Improvement in motor and cognitive impairments combined with traduitional functional exercise speeds up functional recovery.

The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapy. These innovative devices implement an impairment based exercise program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. Manual therapy is the provision of exercise practice by an occupational and physical therapist. As the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the PT and OT to customize the exercises, the patient is given motivating tasks through computer games with biofeedback that give them the correct dose of manual therapy. This means that the TBI, Parkinson’s, stroke or CP patient is given exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance.

Even patients with severe movement dysfunction can benefit from intensive exercise practice as the TUTOR system picks up even small angles of joint movement. The TUTOR system also allows the OT and PT to make objective reports and evaluations on the patient’s movement ability so his progress can be maintained and shown to both himself and his family. This is also a strong motivation to carry on training and improve movement and functional everyday living ability. The HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are a major part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals. The TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home care supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

New Indian Tribe Clinic and the Tutor System

2012-01-12T03:36:00.001-08:00

Dr. Heechin Chae, chief of the Traumatic Brain Injury Department at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia has been chosen to establish a traumatic brain injury (TBI) clinic with The Pocasset Pokanoket Tribe.
Dr. Chae has had some successful outcomes as medical director at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts since 2008. Dr. Chae often treats caregivers and families of soldiers, veterans, as well as athletes.
Beginning in southeastern Massachusetts, the Pocassets intend to open post acute rehabilitation therapy clinics for TBI patients,with new and innovative interdisciplinary low tech, high touch, high repetition approaches to rehabilitation. The clinics will care for 100 patients and be located near and around major population centers.
It has been suggested that Dr. Chae include the newly developed TUTOR system into the list of therapeutic tools used in the treatment programs.
Occupational and physical therapists use the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR – -known as the TUTOR system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed TUTORS consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR is a leg brace for leg and hip treatment. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered TBI, a stroke, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The accompanying software system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition, the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patient’s progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimize the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORS are certified by the FDAand CE. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutors Contribute to Quality of Life Improvement for Parkinson’s Patients

2012-01-11T01:06:00.000-08:00

Matilde Leonardi of the Neurology, Public Health, and Disability Unit, Scientific Directorate. Neurological Institute “Carlo Besta” IRCCS Foundation. Milan, Italy, et al, conducted a study to determine the degree of quality of life issues faced by patients who suffer from Parkinson’s disease published online September 1, 2011. .
Patients with Parkinson’s disease who suffer from a variety of motor and nonmotor symptoms reported reduced quality of life and increased disability. The aims of the study were to assess the impact of Parkinson’s disease on disability and quality of life and to evaluate them.
The 96 person study used the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule.
Parkinson’s disease is strongly associated with reduced quality of life, increased disability and NMS prevalence.
The TUTOR system has been in the forefront of physical rehabilitation tools for Parkinson’s disease patient recovery.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapy. These innovative devices implement an impairment based exercise program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. Manual therapy is the provision of exercise practice by an occupational and physical therapist. As the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the PT and OT to customize the exercises, the patient is given motivating tasks through computer games with biofeedback that give him the correct dose of manual therapy. This means that the Parkinson’s, stroke, CP or TBI patient is given exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance.
Even patients with severe movement dysfunction can benefit from intensive exercise practice as the TUTOR system picks up even small angles of joint movement. The TUTOR system also allows the OT and PT to make objective reports and evaluations on the patient’s movement ability so his progress can be maintained and shown to both himself and his family. This is also a strong motivation to carry on training and improve movement and functional everyday living ability and thereby improved quality of life.
The HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are a major part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals. The TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home care supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutors Effective Tool for TBI Rehabilitation.

2012-01-10T07:45:00.001-08:00

A leading cause of death and disability among persons in the United States is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Yearly, an estimated one and a half million Americans sustain a TBI. 50,000 people die, 230,000 people are hospitalized and survive, and approximately 80,000-90,000 people experience the onset of long-term disability resulting from these injuries.
In patient hospitalization rates have declined since more improvements are made in treatment and the patients can be treated in outpatient units instead. The large amount of TBI in the United States requires public health measures to prevent these injuries and to improve their consequences. Surveillance systems run by the state can provide reliable data on injury causes and risk factors, identify trends in TBI incidence, enable the development of cause-specific prevention strategies focused on populations with the greatest risk, and monitor how effective these programs are. State follow-up registries, built on surveillance systems, can provide more information regarding the frequency and nature of disabilities associated with TBI. This information can help states and communities design, implement, and evaluate cost-effective programs for people living with TBI and for their families, addressing acute care, rehabilitation, and vocational, community support and school .
During the physical rehabilitation process the TUTORS (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) play an important role for TBI patients.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR, for example, have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for TBI and stroke victims and those recovering from spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movements showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually accomplishing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target in terms of the patient’s ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in this new objective. In this way the patient is given feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. Subsequently the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

The Tutor System and Traumatic Brain Injury

2012-01-10T01:16:00.001-08:00

According to the Brain Injury Association of America 1.7 million people suffer a TBI each year in the U.S. Of these,between 75% and 90% are categorized as Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI).
• MTBIs cost the nation nearly $17 billion each year.
• Research indicates that up to 15% of patients diagnosed
with MTBI may have persistent, disabling problems.
The TUTOR System has been in the forefront of rehabilitation for Brain Injury patients.
Victims of brain injury and stroke can benefit greatly from the TUTOR system– the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and the 3DTUTOR. The TUTOR system is being used successfully in leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and clinics and is also benefiting home care patients through the use of telerehabilitation.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for brain injury patients. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback that encourages intensive practice and motor learning through active exercises. The exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive training tailored to the patient’s performance and motor and sensory and cognitive movement ability. Customized, simple but powerful rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist the ability to adjust the program and exercise difficulty to the patient’s movement ability. The system also includes objective quantitative evaluations that allow the physiotherapist and his occupational therapist colleagues to report on the patient’s exercise progress. Telerehabilitation features allow the HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and the 3DTUTOR to be supported by the physical rehabilitation team when the patient is at home. This ensures that the patient is motivated to do more practice between treatments by the therapists. The TUTOR system is suitable for children as well as adults.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

HandTutor Important Tool in Physiotherapy by Telerehabilitation

2012-01-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

Fereshteh Ghasemi of Payame Noor University,Tehran, Iran discusses the topic of
Telerehabilitation or E-rehabilitation. It is the delivery of rehabilitation services over telecom
networks. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 650 million people with
disabilities worldwide; these statistics drive the need for a more applicable Telehealthcare Systems. This
research aims to provide a design description of a novel multilateral telerehabilitation system for patients with
diminished hand function that need minimum interaction between patient and therapist. The proposed
configuration consists of the Central Intelligent System (CIS) including multi-function modules in a
homepage for patients in a physiotherapy office, and a Hand Rehabilitation System including a Robot, Motion
Analysis Module or the HANDTUTOR in the patient’s home. This system works with a
diagnostic feedback from a Hand Rehabilitation System to the Central Intelligent System (CIS). The patient affixes
sensors on his hand and proceeds with daily activity. Data transmitted by WSN will be analyzed by the Motion
Analysis Module in order to diagnose the latest degree of recovery. Information is fed back automatically
to the CIS through the network. An appropriate program corresponding to the information will be
prepared by CIS and transmitted into the robot. After doing exercises by the system, joint angles are measured
and sent to the CIS again to diagnose the level of patient recovery. Cost of care using this configuration is
reduced significantly.
In the case of the HANDTUTOR no robots are used because they inhibit the patient from using his own power to develop normal mobility. The telerehabilitation system allows a live OT or PT to monitor the therapy sessions via the HANDTUTOR system as the patient maneuvers through the dedicated software on his computer.
The HANDTUTOR and its sister devices ( ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) have been developed to teach children and adults how to reuse their joints after hand and wrist injuries such as trauma or stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, CP, MS, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and a host of other serious debilitating diseases that affect hand, wrist and arm movement ability. These can be treated with the HANDTUTOR and the ARMTUTOR. The unique and successful devices use a dedicated software that utilizes games to enhance and improve the patient’s functional movement ability by motivating the patient to do intensive movement practice which is the key element in an occupational and physical therapist’s treatment of movement impairments. The games, such as, Car Race, Snowball, Catch The Ball, Sky Defender and others captivate and motivate the child and even the adult to excel and thereby to improve their range of motion and general use of the hand or wrist. The TUTORS use tele rehabilitation for those patients that are home bound or who have recovered sufficiently to get their treatment at home. Leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and outpatient clinics now use the devices which can treat adults as well. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Juvenile CIMT Intervention is Complemented by the ArmTutor in Rehabilitation

2012-01-09T03:28:00.001-08:00

Children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) often demonstrate limited reach, grasp, and manipulation in the involved upper extremity. These limitations affect their functional activities, including social play, object play, educational activities and self-care. Most children with unilateral CP learn to perform tasks primarily using their noninvolved arm with minimal to almost no use of the involved arm.
Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a short-term, intensive intervention that involves constraint of the noninvolved arm and intensive movement practice of the involved arm. Developed in the 1980s it has been successfully used with adults and children. Most protocols for pediatrics consider the child’s age and interests, are specifically adapted to the child’s leve and type of impairment, and usually include an educational component for caregivers to maintain practice of newly gained skills.
After numerous trials depending on age, schedules and other factors the results of a comprehensive study found that pediatric CIMT is a useful intervention producing clinically significant improvements in upper-extremity function of young children with unilateral CP.
When the child is at least 4 years old the ARMTUTOR is an important device used in C.I.M.T. rehabilitation therapy for children with CP caused upper extremity limitations.
The newly developed ARMTUTOR can play an integral part in the C.I.M.T. process. The ARMTUTOR provides the physiotherapist and occupational therapist the ability to customize manual therapy for the arm, shoulder, elbow and wrist. Together with its sister devices (HANDTUTOR,LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) it has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity. The ARMTUITOR system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system allows for the occupational and physical therapists to implement biomechanical evaluations which include speed, passive/active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This, to best customize the shoulder and elbow exercises provided by the ARMTUTOR. In addition, quantitative biomechanical data allows for objective evaluation and rehabilitation treatment follow up by the occupational and physical therapist. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and motivating exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The exercises are designed in the form of challenging games that are suitable for a wide variety of orthopedic injury and disease.The games, which children love, challenge the patient to perform the exercise task to their best ability.
The ARMTUTOR provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients performance. This encourages motivation. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
The ARMTUTOR system is being used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and has full FDA and CE certification. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM

Tutors Used to Speed Recovery of SCI Patients During Therapy

2012-01-09T01:08:00.001-08:00

The SIERRRA SUN on January 9, 2012 reports about Jake Hickman who was on top of the world, still relishing two of the best performances of his life as he skied through a training run on Day 3 of the U.S. Freestyle Selections in Colorado.
However, the next moment, the 17-year-old Squaw Valley Freestyle Team standout was sprawled on the snow with no feeling from his belly button down. He could not move his right leg, and felt a tingling sensation in his left leg.
It was a freak accident, explained his father, Eric, who scurried to his son’s side.
He caught his tip and got thrown backwards a little bit,” said Eric Hickman, recalling the Dec. 23 accident. “He was going to land on his neck and he decided that that wasn’t a good idea, so he threw a loop and landed on his back instead. It was a good decision on his part, otherwise it could have been a lot worse.”
Jake was secured to a backboard and rushed to a local hospital. Then he was flown to Denver Health Medical Center where he underwent an eight hour surgery to repair the T7-T8 spinal cord injury. His father said he suffered a compression fracture and dislocation of the vertebrae, causing a pinch to the spinal cord. 10 screws and two 16-centimeter rods were placed into his back.
For that Jake feels fortunate. He and his family are also relieved that he seems well on the road to recovery, even walking with assistance about four or five days after the accident.
“He’s able to stand and walk, just barely, holding on to us. So things are looking pretty good.” says his mother.
On Tuesday he was transferred to Craig Hospital in Denver, which specializes in spinal cord injuries, rehabilitation and research. Jake had a chance to discuss his injury briefly between rounds of testing and medication.
“I’m getting better, I’m working on it. But it’s definitely pretty hard”, Jake says.
Spinal Cord Injury is one of many disabilities that are vastly improved by the use of the TUTOR system.
Occupational therapists use the HANDTUTOR,ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR – known as the TUTOR system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed TUTORs consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered a stroke, head/brain injury, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patients progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORs are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Children Benefit from the Tutor System in Physical Therapy

2012-01-08T04:44:00.000-08:00

The following explanations are explained via the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Hemiparesis is experienced by one of three children with cerebral palsy (CP). This is the impairment affecting one side of the body. Hemiparesis is also found among children who experience childhood strokes, traumatic brain injuries and other central nervous system conditions.
In about 1.5 per 1000 live births there may be neonatal Brachial Plexus injury (BPI) caused by the birth or traumatic injury to the brachial plexus (which is an injury of the peripheral nervous system). Similar to children with hemiparesis, these children often have poor functioning of one arm while the other arm is usually normal.
Children with impaired functioning of one of their arms can have disabling symptoms affecting play, school, and self-care. Hand and arm functioning may be affected by abnormal muscle tone and flexion synergies, decreased strength, decreased active and passive range of motion, altered sensation, and neglect . Also, children with hemiplegia due to central nervous system damage are often affected by mirror movements–unconscious and uncontrolled movement of one hand following the same pattern as the contralateral hand—impacting the ability to use two hands when the hands are required to do different movements (for example, one hand stabilizes an object while the other acts on the object).
Current theory suggests that children with unilateral upper extremity impairment must overcome “developmental non-use”, a term which indicates that the children never have used the impaired upper extremity. Another term frequently used is “learned non-use”, this refers to hemiplegia in an individual who previously had functional use of the arm
Traditionally, children with hemiplegia or brachial plexus injury receive physical therapy and occupational therapy services to maximize their functional skills. Conventional treatment approaches focus on a mix of biomechanical, developmental, neurodevelopmental, and rehabilitative (including compensatory) models.
If the child is at least around the age of 4 or 5 the recently developed TUTOR system can be of great assistance in physical therapy.
The HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapy for children as well as adults. These innovative devices implement an impairment based exercise program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. Manual therapy is the provision of exercise practice by an occupational and physical therapist. As the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the PT and OT to customize the exercises, the patient is given motivating tasks through computer games with biofeedback that give them the correct dose of manual therapy. This means that the CP, Parkinson’s, stroke, or TBI patient is given exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. Even patients with severe movement dysfunction can benefit from intensive exercise practice as the TUTOR system picks up even small angles of joint movement. The TUTOR system also allows the OT and PT to make objective reports and evaluations on the patient’s movement ability so his progress can be maintained and shown to both himself and his family. This is also a strong motivation to carry on training and improve movement and functional everyday living ability. The HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are a major part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals. The TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home care supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

ArmTutor Takes Over Physical Rehabilitation for Stroke Patients

2012-01-08T00:17:00.001-08:00

As reported in the ”Misoulian” January 2012. Scott Douglas, founding director of the University of Montana’s Entertainment Management program, suffered a severe stroke over a year ago. In addition, he developed Broca’s Aphasia. He is receiving intensive therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, acupuncture and many other types of treatment. Soon he will be able to work on getting back his normal movement ability in his affected right arm and when he does the ARMTUTOR will be of substantial help.
The ARMTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder, elbow, wrist or upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows Physical and occupational therapists (OT) (PT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patients movement ability and report on the patients exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice through the use of various games which are at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injury and disease.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the occupational or physical therapist and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatment. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Overall, controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired and compensatory joint performance of functional tasks.
The Arm Tutor and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics. They can also be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Injured Libyan Rebels Can Benefit From Tutor System

2012-01-05T04:05:00.000-08:00

Spaulding Hospital in the Boston area of the U.S. has been treating 22 Libyan rebels for their injuries suffered in the recent rebellion against the late dictator Muammar Gadafi. Their injuries, most of which were the result of gunshot wounds, affected the use of their hands, arms, shoulders and legs. Spaulding hospital was chosen by the U.S. government to treat the former rebels and the bill was paid by the transitional government of Libya.
Rebel or not the best physical rehabilitation treatment for injuries and surgeries of upper and lower limbs is the TUTOR system.
The ARMTUTOR and HANDTUTOR have been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable glove and arm brace together with dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR and HANDTUTOR allows the physical and occupational therapist to report on and evaluate the patients functional rehabilitation progress. This allows the OT and PT to prescribe the right customized and motivating exercise practice which is the cornerstone to manual rehabilitation therapy. Intensive repetition of movement is achieved through challenging games set to the patient’s movement ability. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s performance. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
The LEGTUTOR™ has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the lower extremity including the hip and knee. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable leg brace and dedicated rehabilitation software. The LEGTUTOR™ rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. This allows the physical therapist to set the exercise practice, performed through customized rehabilitation games, to the patient’s movement ability. Patients who are post knee or hip surgery or who have had lower limb surgeries must do isolated repetitive knee flexion and extension exercises both in the lying, sitting and standing position to strengthen their knee or leg. Having the exercises in the form of a customized rehabilitation game motivates the patient to perform repetitive movement practice which is the mainstay of a physical therapist’s manual exercise technique. In addition, the LEGTUTOR™ system allows for a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the lower extremity. This evaluation allows the physical therapist to report on the patient’s movement performance and shows the patient the improvements that they are making.
Telerehabilitation allows the recovering patient to continue his physical therapy at home. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

The Tutor System–Known for its Importance in Movement Disorders

2012-01-05T01:02:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON D.C (Ivanhoe Newswire)October 2011 –72 million Americans are affected by movement disorders. Now, a lab is helping doctors learn how to treat these disorders. New technologies are allowing some patients to get the treatment they need.
Chris Tisch was born 17 weeks early and diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
“When I first saw him, his whole body was affected. He couldn’t stand up…could barely sit,” Katharine Alter, M.D., Medical director of Gait Lab National Institutes of Health told Ivanhoe.
Now, thanks in part to therapy he received at this NIH lab, Chris can walk on both legs and even hop .
Today, Chris is testing out a new gait analysis system. Ten infrared cameras record each step he makes and computer software creates a 3D image that tells doctors how his muscles move and recommends what treatments could help him.
A second technology, which is a balance testing system, is used for people with any type of movement disorder — emanating from stroke, Parkinson’s, MS and brain tumor patients. It helps doctors evaluate patients’ steadiness when they stand.
A robotic remote arm is being developed to help physical therapists treat people in faraway locations while doctors in the lab analyze movement.
Another device, an ultrasound machine, measures the thickness of muscles to show doctors if therapy has helped the patient improve.
The lab really measures human movement, whether it’s balance or walking or just general motion.
The National Institutes of Health Lab will soon be collaborating with the Department of Defense to study soldiers with traumatic brain injuries who have issues with balance and coordination. They will follow patients for about five years, looking for ways to help them improve.
The TUTOR system is one of the outstanding new set of devices created to improve movement disorders.
The TUTOR system, consisting of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR, has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the whole body including the upper and lower extremity. The TUTORS consist of ergonomic wearable braces and include dedicated rehabilitation software that provide patient instructions and feedback to encourage intensive controlled exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR is used to give hand therapy to patients with SCI, Parkinson’s disease, CP, MS, stroke, Radial/Ulnar nerve and Brachial Plexus injuries. Hand, arm and leg surgery rehabilitation are also assisted by the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR.
The TUTOR system allows for controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern which prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement. This is especially important to ensure that brain and spinal cord injury patients learn to better perform functional tasks.
The new TUTOR system is a medical, physical and occupational therapy rehabilitation device that is used by children as well as adults and through the use of telerehabilitation. They are FDA and CE certified. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

The Tutor System Augments Pain Medication For SCI Patients

2012-01-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

Relief from chronic pain is a major priority for the 1,000,000 US residents that suffer from spinal cord injury (SCI). Ching-Yi Lin, PhD, Department of Neurosciences in Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute, is the lead and corresponding author of a new study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, showing that a single injection of fibronectin, a naturally occurring protein, leads to an inhibition of chronic SCI pain for over eight months in an experimental model. This is a collaborative project between Dr. Lin and Yu-Shang Lee, PhD, Department of Neurosciences; Vernon Lin, MD, PhD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cleveland Clinic; and Jerry Silver, PhD, Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University.
Fibronectin is known to support the survival and growth of neurons in the brain and spinal cord. These researchers discovered, through the use of fibronectin fragments and competitive inhibitors, that the pain-curbing results depended upon a short, 8-amino acid segment of fibronectin, which activated specific cellular signaling pathways.
It is known that spinal cord injury increases the permeability of the blood-spinal cord barrier, causing secondary pathogenesis and chronic pain due to exposure of the spinal cord to inflammatory cells. Results show that fibronectin not only maintained the integrity of the blood-spinal cord barrier, but also suppressed the inflammatory response. Researchers found that fibronectin reversed spinal cord injury-induced decreases in serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in pain perception.
The dose and timing of Fibronectin can augment the functional gain of physiotherapy.The TUTORS have been in the forefront of rehabilitation therapy for spinal cord injury.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations.
These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing.
The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patients ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient’s objective. In this way the patient can understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. The TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
The HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

MS Physical Therapy Includes the Tutor System

2012-01-04T05:14:00.000-08:00

TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease affecting the brain and nervous system, causing nerve impulses to be slowed or stopped for approximately 400,000 people in the U.S. today. Patients are travelling hundreds, even thousands of miles, for a controversial treatment that’s only performed by a few doctors in the U.S.
A year ago, 48-year-old Barbara Garcia couldn’t get across the room without a walker or wheelchair. Multiple sclerosis was taking its toll both physically and mentally.
Tests showed Barbara had a narrowing in the jugular veins that some say is associated with MS. When Doctor Bulent Arslan saw her tests, he agreed to do an experimental MS procedure called venoplasty for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI. In the procedure dye is injected into the jugular veins to locate the narrowed area. Then, similar to an angioplasty, a balloon’s inserted into the vein and inflated to improve blood flow from the brain toward the heart.
“We do that until we get enough improvement so that blood flow is not restricted. Barbara started showing improvement right on the table”, said Bulent Arslan, M.D., an associate professor of radiology at the University of South Florida.He is also an associate member of the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute .
He wanted to see her walk and sure enough, she was able to get up and walk around the bed.
Now, Barbara can do a lot more than that, like take care of her granddaughter, even vacation in Spain. But some doctors still believe the short- and long-term benefits of balloon venoplasty are being blown out of proportion.
Bruce Zwiebel, M.D., an interventional radiologist at Tampa General Hospital said “We need to make sure this procedure works, make sure it’s durable, find out more about it,”.
Barbara is happy enough that she is free of a walker or wheelchair .
Barbara’s case was the first of 120 of these procedures for Doctor Arslan. He says that Venoplasty is not a cure, but 70 to 80 percent of his MS patients whose tests confirm CCSVI show improvement following treatment. To date more than two-million dollars has been committed to study the procedure in the U.S. and Canada.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapy for MS patients. These innovative devices implement an impairment based exercise program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises.
Manual therapy is the provision of exercise practice by an occupational and physical therapist. As the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the PT and OT to customize the exercises, the patient is given motivating tasks through computer games with biofeedback that give them the correct dose of manual therapy. This means that the MS, Parkinson’s, stroke, CP or TBI patient is given exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. Even patients with severe movement dysfunction can benefit from intensive exercise practice as the TUTOR system picks up even small angles of joint movement.
The TUTOR system also allows the OT and PT to make objective reports and evaluations on the patient’s movement ability so his progress can be maintained and shown to both himself and his family. This is also a strong motivation to carry on training and improve movement and functional everyday living ability. The HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are a major part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals. The TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home care supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Known for Its SCI Rehabilitation Therapy Successes

2012-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

MARTHA WAGGONER reports through the Associated Press on January 1, 2012 that a woman from North Carolina who married last summer following a poolside accident that left her paralyzed isn’t walking yet, however she hasn’t given up on learning to move independently again.
After training for almost three weeks Rachelle Chapman is stronger from her work at Project Walk, a spinal cord injury recovery center in Carlsbad, Calif. The 26-year-old from Knightdale hopes to return for more training that could help her walk for the first time ever since the accident which happened just weeks before she was going to get married.
It was on May 23, 2010, that Chapman was pushed into a pool by a friend during her bachelorette party. She fell into the shallow end and hit the cement bottom. The injury to her vertebra left her with no feeling from the chest down and feeling on the inside of her arms but not the outside.
Chapman got one round of rehabilitation therapy after her accident and tried to exercise on her own. Now she works out on a table that her husband, Chris, and his father built for her and does weight-bearing exercises on a home gym.
When Chapman arrived at Project Walk, she was weak. Her blood pressure was low because her muscles had atrophied and she didn’t have the muscle contractions necessary to move the blood. Mornings would be difficult for her and she wasn’t even be able to get into a seated position without her passing out.
In conjunction with the therapy that Chapman is receiving the TUTOR system has shown to be successful for Spinal Cord Injury victims.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR,) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. The system has been developed to improve the mobility of patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury or other disabling illness or event. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. This training is tailored and customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR,ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR is now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with the TUTORS being used in clinics and in their home. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist offering tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutors Complement New Protein For Parkinson’s Patients

2012-01-03T00:31:00.000-08:00

As reported December 23, 2011 via the Ivanhoe Newswire – A new strategy to treat Parkinson’s disease patients may help calm their tremors and help people live a normal life.
The key is to stabilize the cell’s power-generating center– the
. Mitochondria are damaged in Parkinson’s Disease (PD), leading to loss of dopaminergic neurons and degeneration of brain function. Taking advantage of the fact that viruses often stabilize mitochondria in order to ensure survival of the cells they infect, a team led by John Sinclair and Roger Barker at the University of Cambridge injected a viral protein called beta2.7, known to protect mitochondria, into rats with a PD-like disease.
Rats injected with this beta2.7 before or after the formation of PD-like brain lesions performed better on tests of behavior and motor function. Their brains also contained more dopaminergic neurons. However further work is needed to determine if the same approach will also benefit human PD patients.
When further developed beta2.7 can augment the functional gain of physiotherapy. Specifically the use of the TUTORS.
The TUTORS (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) have been in the forefront of rehabilitation treatment for Parkinson’s disease patients.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapy. These innovative devices implement an impairment based exercise program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. Manual therapy is the provision of exercise practice by an occupational and physical therapist. As the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the PT and OT to customize the exercises, the patient is given motivating tasks through computer games with biofeedback that give them the correct dose of manual therapy. This means that the Parkinson’s, stroke, CP or TBI patient is given exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. Even patients with severe movement dysfunction can benefit from intensive exercise practice as the TUTOR system picks up even small angles of joint movement.
The TUTOR system also allows the OT and PT to make objective reports and evaluations on the patient’s movement ability so his progress can be maintained and shown to both himself and his family. This is also a strong motivation to carry on training and improve movement and functional everyday living ability. The HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are a major part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals. The TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home care supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Stroke Victim Finds Help in the Tutors

2012-01-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

Jordan Willi writes in the River Falls Journal about Carrie Gajewski who had her specially fitted SUV stolen from the Croix View Apartments’ parking lot in Hudson early Friday morning.
To most people, an auto is just a means of transportation. But to Carrie Gajewski, her auto meant independence.
The SUV was specially fitted with hand controls. It allowed Gajewski to operate the vehicle even though one of her hands was affected by a stroke she suffered a decade ago.
Carrie spent five days in intensive care and another five weeks in the hospital after her stroke in mid-February 2001.
The stroke occurred in the left side of her brain where language and speech processes are. Carrie went through both speech and physical therapy to learn how to talk and walk again.
The TUTOR system is being widely used for the rehabilitation of stroke victims similar to Carrie.
Occupational therapists use the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR- – known as the Tutor system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed TUTORS consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered a stroke, head/brain injury, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The TUTOR system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patients progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimize the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Maximizes the Therapy for Brain Injured Patients

2012-01-02T04:22:00.001-08:00

Boston, Massachusets has a major problem. It has the largest number of drunk driving accidents resulting in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). This according to an article by Dr. Ford Vox written in THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY January 1, 2012.
Studies indicate alcohol is involved in a least a fifth ( no pun intended) of brain injuries caused by motor vehicle accidents . By contrast, a ten-minute personal reflection indicates Boston’s drug of choice is involved in at least 75% of crashes resulting in a traumatic brain injury which is severe enough for the rehabilitation hospital.
A high-functioning Bostonian woman had too many cocktails at an after-work party but made the mistake of driving home (even though her high-functioning coworkers didn’t stop her). A lot of Boston’s elders enjoy an alcoholic nightcap. Dr. Vox sees them regularly after they fall in the bathroom at night resulting in subdural hematomas. Many cases he sees have almost nothing to do with alcoholism. These are just people whose alcohol usage is normal for the society in which they live: New England. Until they were injured many were experiencing no health, social, or work problems because of their alcohol use.
There are many more absurd cases of brain injuries resulting from this drinking phenomenon. However when it DOES occur and recovery is taking place there is the TUTOR system which can greatly maximize the physical therapy treatment that is necessary to return normal mobility to the brain injured patient.
Victims of brain injury and stroke can benefit greatly from the TUTOR system– the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and the 3DTUTOR. The TUTOR system is being used successfully in leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and clinics and is also benefiting home care patients.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for brain injury patients as well as post stroke and TBI patients. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback that encourages regular practice and motor learning through intensive active exercises. The exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance and also motor, sensory and cognitive movement ability. Customized, simple but powerful rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist the ability to adjust the program and exercise difficulty to the patient’s movement ability. The system also includes objective quantitative evaluations that allow the physiotherapist and his occupational therapist colleagues to report on the patients exercise progress. Telerehabilitation features allow the HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and the 3DTUTOR to be supported by the physical rehabilitation team when the patient is at home. This ensures that the patient is motivated to do more practice between treatments by the therapists. The TUTOR system is suitable for children as well as adults. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery Strengthened by TUTORS

2012-01-01T04:54:00.000-08:00

Published in the Star-Ledger on Friday, December 30, 2011 by Raymond Fredericks was an article explaining that we should refocus public attention on the tens of thousands of service members who fought in Iraq and were affected by traumatic brain injuries — or TBIs — the “signature wound” of the Iraq war.
There was a terrible toll rendered by roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices which brought new attention to TBIs a half dozen years ago but public awareness has diminished with the passage of time. It is important to remain vigilant in addressing TBIs, which clinicians have tagged the “silent epidemic.”
The impact of a TBI is devastating, whether it’s experienced by a service member or a by a civilian. Over 3 million Americans live with permanent TBI-related disabilities. Only 28 percent are competitively employed, 33 percent require at least overnight supervision and 16 percent are institutionalized, among adults who experience moderate or severe TBIs and that receive rehabilitation, one year after injury .
Tremendous progress has been made over the past 10 years in the rehabilitation and treatment of individuals with TBIs, but statistics indicate that more must be done to fully understand and address the many medical complications caused by these injuries. The federal government has taken a lead role in supporting critical research on this topic.
In the forefront of treatment during physical therapy for TBI are the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR. Rehabilitation using the TUTORS is being done in the USA at major rehabiliaiton in-patient and out-patient centers as well as at private physical therapy clinics. Many patients including stroke and cerebral palsy as well as those who have had a TBI or spinal cord injury can also avail themselves of the TUTOR system through the use of tele rehabilitation. The TUTORS have been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the whole body including the upper and lower extremity. The system consists of ergonomic wearable devices and dedicated rehabilitation software that provide patient instructions and feedback to encourage intensive massed controlled exercise practice. In this way, the TUTOR system allows for controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern which prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and therefore ensures better performance of functional tasks. This is important in stroke, brain, spinal cord (SCI) and Cerebral palsy rehabilitation in addition to other neurological and orthopedic injury and disease.
Additional features of the TUTOR system include quantitative evaluation and objective follow up that is important in the physiotherapists treatment of the stroke patient. The TUTORS are FDA and CE certified. The new medical devices in the TUTOR system are available for children as well as adults. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

C.I.M.T. Supported by the Tutors

2012-01-01T02:51:00.000-08:00

In the January/February 2012 edition of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy Jane Case-Smith, Director, Occupational Therapy Division, Ohio State University; Stephanie C. DeLuca, Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alabama at Birmingham;Richard Stevenson, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville andSharon Landesman Ramey, Professor, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, Va. discuss a study of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT)
The objective of the study was whether pediatric constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a promising intervention for children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP). This trial tested whether 6 hours versus 3 hours per day for 21 days would produce a larger maintenance of gains after 6 months of treatment.
The conclusion reached was that the hypothesis that maintenance of effects would differ for children who received 6 versus 3 hours per day of CIMT (126 versus 63 total hours) was not supported.
The HANDTUTOR has been an effective device to be used in CIMT. It, together with its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR, aims to increase the amount of use and quality of movement of the weaker arm or limb by following a structured treatment program.
The treatment program works by producing ‘rewiring’ of the brain; this means that a larger part of the brain becomes active when producing movement of the weaker arm. This program is underpinned by several research studies which have proven benefits, particularly for stroke patients.
The program involves a number of components in particular the use of repetitive task-oriented training. This involves the person practicing a series of short tasks with the weaker arm for several hours a day over a two to three week period under supervision by a trained therapist. Whilst using the weaker arm the unaffected side is restrained, for example by wearing a cast,mitt or glove to continually remind the person to use the weaker arm.
The person is encouraged to use the weaker arm outside of the treatment program for functional tasks at home whilst wearing the cast, glove or mitt and is provided with a series of home assignments to complete. Research has proven that such intensive and repetitive use of the weaker arm over this short period leads to increased use of the weaker arm as well as improved quality of movement. The TUTORS have been used effectively in CIMT training and therapy. The TUTORS are designed to be used by children as well as adults..
The TUTORS are currently being used in leading hospitals and clinics in the U.S. and Europe and are fuly certified by the FDA and CE. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Joins Rehabilitation for Elderly Patients

2012-01-01T01:24:00.001-08:00

As appeared in Agence France-Presse, on January 1, 2012
Singaporean retiree Soon Eng Sam, 70, suffered a stroke that paralysed the left side of his body six months ago.
While bedridden for three months, he has regained some of his limb functions on the affected side through the use of conventional physical therapy but now hopes to hasten his recovery with the help of new ”gadgets” designed to make rehabilitation fun. Among these ”gadgets” are the TUTORS. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are leading newly developed devices to strengthen the affected limbs and joints of patients suffering from stroke, head injuries, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Radial and Ulnar nerve injuries and other disabilities.
“This therapy is not so boring, not so painful as physical therapy, because the machine is assisting me to move my arm up and down and laterally” said Soon Eng Sam.
One of the therapists had to tell Soon to slow down as the former civil servant enthusiastically used his left hand to catch virtual water droplets with a teacup on a colour monitor.
The Centre for Advanced Rehabilitation Therapeutics (CART) in Singapore, where some of this therapy takes place, is described by its administrators as the most advanced facility of its kind in Asia.
Medical authorities are deploying the latest technology as fast-greying Singapore prepares for a “silver tsunami” of elderly people because of longer life spans and low birth rates.
Some of these devices allow therapists to use ”smart technology” to empower clients to take control over their recovery as well as to use therapy time more efficiently.
The TUTOR rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patients ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows him to understand which effort is more successful in allowing him to move his affected limb again. In this way the TUTOR system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allows for repetitive and intensive exercise practice.
Any patients with balance deficits and decreased arm function will also benefit from these games.
Younger patients as well as accident victims and those with congenital motor problems, also benefit from this enhanced physical therapy.
The TUTORS have one of the most cost effective physical rehabilitation systems.
The TUTORS are now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.CO

LegTutor, 3DTutor Assist Balance Therapy for Parkinson’s Patients

2011-12-29T07:02:00.001-08:00

Abigail L. Leddy, Beth E. Crowner and Gammon M. Earhart of the Washington University School of Medicine writing in the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association discuss a study pertaining to balance in Parkinson’s disease patients.
Balance impairment, gait impairments and falls are prevalent in Parkinson disease (PD) patients. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) can be considered the reference standard for the determination of the risk of falling but it has a noted ceiling effect. Development of ceiling-free measures that can assess balance and are good at discriminating “fallers” from “nonfallers” is needed, was their conclusion.
The LEGTUTOR™ is used for Parkinson’s disease patients and also orthopedic and trauma rehabilitation as it offers the possibility to do repetitive isolated and combined movement practice. Patients with neurological lower limb movement impairments including stroke, CP and spinal and brain injury patients also benefit from the use of the LEGTUTOR. The LEGTUTOR along with its sister products, the ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR, allow for controlled exercise of single and multi joints within the normal movement pattern This prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
For balance therapy a LEGTUTOR or 3DTUTOR is placed on the less impaired leg and/or on the more impaired leg.
Then the patient stands on one leg (either impaired or healthy) and then plays an aiming game like “darts” which is one of the games on the dedicated TUTOR software. This way it strengthens both the legs and works on balance + cognition.
The LEGTUTOR™ and the ARMTUTOR, HANDTUTOR and 3DTUTOR – the TUTOR system– is used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and has full FDA and CE certification. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM.

HandTutor Augments Physical Therapy for Stroke Patients

2011-12-29T05:32:00.000-08:00

A study was published in the EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL AND REHABILITATION MEDICINE on September 2011 that discusses the transfer of motor skill learning from the healthy hand to the paretic hand in stroke patients.
Drs. C.D. Ausenda and M.Carnovali of the Department of Rehabilitation, San Carlo Borromeo Hospital, Milan, Italy and the Department of Rehabilitation, Passirana Hospital, Garbagnate, Milan, Italy wrote that bilateral transfer of a motor skill is a phenomenon based on the observation that the performance of a skill with one hand can “teach” the same skill to the other hand. In this study the ability of bilateral transfer to facilitate the motor skill of the paretic hand in patients that suffered a stroke was tested.
A nine hole peg test was used and no significant difference was found in the control group.
It was the first evidence that bilateral transfer of motor skills is present in patients that suffered a stroke, and that it can improve the ability of the affected hand.
The HANDTUTOR is a newly developed tool that allows for the strengthening of the motor skills in stroke patients.
The goal in rehabilitation is to return the patient’s functional ability to as near as possible to the pre event state. The stroke survivor wants and needs to become as independent as possible and to relearn basic skills like eating, dressing and walking. This will preserve their dignity and reduce the burden on family carers and the community.
Improving functional capability of the stroke patient is the main goal of the TUTOR system. The mainstay tool to improve functional ability post stroke of a physiotherapist and occupational therapist is manual therapy and intensive repetitve exercise practice. It is for this reason that major rehabilitation centers in the USA and abroad are using the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR. This newly developed TUTOR system optimizes motor, sensory and cognitive performance to allow the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks and improve quality of life.
Manual therapy with the TUTOR system uses augmented feedback and encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises. The exercises that are done with the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUOR are tailored by the occupational and physiotherapist to the patient’s movement ability and are challenging and motivating. The system also includes objective quantitative evaluations that provide the therapist information to customize the most suitable rehabilitation program to the patient’s ability. The TUTOR system can also be used in an outpatient and home care setting. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists can offer their patients telerehabilitation with the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR system.

LegTutor, 3DTutor and ArmTutor Offer Complementary Therapy to Wounded Marine

2011-12-29T04:21:00.001-08:00

Christine Cooley was prepared to accompany the body of her son, Sgt. Joshua Cooley, home from Iraq after he suffered severe injuries from an IED in 2005.
With the front third of his brain lost, the majority of his body covered in burns and with countless pieces of shrapnel in his body he wasn’t expected to survive. But Joshua had the undying spirit of a Marine and the helping hands of the Healing Heroes Network. He began to make amazing progress up to a point but his left hand and leg were still weak and not usable.
Along came Dr. Allan Spiegel in Tampa Bay, Fla., who had a specialty in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Funded by the Healing Heroes Network progress now was sped up immensely and Josh was eventually able to get back on his horse for rides as well as accomplish further limited chores. One of the overriding issues was to get his left side back to as a normal a mobility status as possible.
The TUTORS (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) present an excellent supplement to new and traditional therapies for brain injury patients with incomplete paralysis. This is because the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the physical and occupational therapist to give patients customized, intensive and repetitive exercise practice according to their movement ability. This allows for the dose and intensiveness of manual therapy to be increased as the patient is motivated to do the correct exercises without doing compensatory movement . The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR have been shown to improve range of motion as well as speed and accuracy of movement and improve functional movement ability in patients with brain,spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, CP, MS,stroke, Radial and Ulnar nerve and Brachial Plexus injuries, and other disabling diseases. The HANDTUTOR is being used in leading rehabilitation departments in the US and other countries in addition to outpatient and private clinics. Patients discharged from inpatient rehabilitation departments are benefiting from the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR and the intensive exercise practice in the comfort of their own homes supported by tele rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Train Wreck Victim Can Receive Much Needed Help From the LegTutor

2011-12-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

Wang Hongyi reports in China Daily.com on December 29, 2011 about the future for the toddler survivor of the high-speed train crash in July. It does not look as if it is going to be too smooth a recovery.
Xiang Weiyi, the 2-year-old girl nicknamed Yiyi, from Wenzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province, was rescued from the wreck 20 hours after a deadly train accident in Wenzhou. Unfortunately her parents were killed in the accident.
The girl’s left leg was badly injured as she was stuck in the wreckage for a long time, In August she was transferred for further treatment to a Shanghai hospital. Doctors at the first hospital feared they would have to amputate her leg.
After several months of intense treatment, the girl is walking again.
“The recovery of the nerve on her foot was much bettert han our earlier expectation. Since recovery of the nervous system is of crucial importance, we can expect the motor and sensory functions of her leg to improve gradually,”said Du Qing, a doctor from Shanghai Xinhua Hospital’s rehabilitation treatment department.
Now that cleaning up of her wounds and the skin grafting on her leg are complete, Yiyi has entered the phase of rehabilitation therapy. Under the rehabilitation plan made by medical experts, the girl has to go through a three-hour training period daily.
Since the LEGTUTOR has been designed to treat children as well as adults this innovative device bodes well for Yiyi’s future.
The LEGTUTOR™ system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the lower extremity. Together with the 3DTUTOR the LEGTUTOR can be used to increase the patient’s proprioception performance with dedicated games being developed in the rehabilitation software for this outcome. The TUTOR system rehabilitation concept, which also includes the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and 3DTUTOR, is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level including balance and proprioception training. This is achieved with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The exercises are designed in the form of challenging rehabilitation games that are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and disease. The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise task to their best ability and to continue exercise practice. Exercise practice is the most important manual therapy tool in the armory of physical and occupational therapists to ensure optimal rehabilitation.
The LEGTUTOR also allows for isolated and a combination of knee and three directional hip treatment. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patient’s exercise performance. Controlled exercise of multi joints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
The LEGTUTOR system is used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide for both neurological and orthopedic patients including adults and children. The TUTOR system holds FDA and CE certification. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Brain Injury Therapy can be Maximized by the Tutor System

2011-12-28T08:30:00.001-08:00

It was reported by Joaquin Sapien, and Daniel Zwerdling in NPR Dec. 15, 2011 that Senator Claire McCaskill, chairwoman of the Senate Contracting Oversight Subcommittee, wants answers on the program to test soldiers for brain injuries
The Senator has demanded answers from the military about its neurological testing program from Army Secretary John McHugh.
The issue is a computerized cognitive test called the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics, or ANAM. Under an order from Congress to implement testing, the military began administering the ANAM to help detect brain injuries among troops deployed to war zones. However our investigation found that the military is using the test in a way that the process to select it was marred by bias and that makes the results unreliable.
McCaskill’s request comes after an amendment to help fix the testing program was eliminated from the House version of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act earlier this week. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D. N.J.,the amendment’s author expressed discontent with the program’s implementation and with the efforts Congress’ is using to mend it.
Pascrell said that the problem of brain injuries among our servicemen is not being addressed.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation for stroke victims and those recovering from brain and spinal injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other limb movement limitations. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented motion feedback that encourages motor learning through intensive active exercises and movement practice. The HandTutor ArmTutor, LegTutor, 3DTutor consist of wearable glove and braces that detect limb movement showing the patient how much active or assisted active movement they are actually doing. The rehabilitation software uses special rehabilitation games to set a new target for this movement in terms of the patients ability to move their limb. The devices then measure the limb movement and give feedback on the success of the patient in trying to gain this new movement objective. In this way the patient is given movement feedback that allows the patient to understand which effort is more successful in allowing them to move their affected limb again. That is how the Tutor system provides exercises that are challenging and motivating and allows for repetitive and intensive exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are now part of the rehabilitation programs of leading U.S. German, Italian, French, UK and other foreign hospitals. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Spinal Cord Injury Treated by Tutor System in Physiotherapy

2011-12-28T04:15:00.001-08:00

July 25, 2008, started as a typical summer day for Brandon Armstrong as he and a few friends grabbed their rods and reels to go fishing by a train trestle in a creek near his home in Joyce, in Winn Parish. While the boys planned on spending the day fishing, they also decided to bring along a .22 caliber rifle to do some target practice. In short Armstrong suffered a severe brain injury after being shot in the back of the head during a hunting accident., The family has continued his therapy in one centralized location, in HealthSouth Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic in Alexandria. Armstrong is slowly recovering from his injury with the help of extensive therapy.
The TUTOR has been shown to improve the chances of restoring full mobility to brain injury patients. Occupational therapists use the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR – known as theTUTOR system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work., The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developedTUTORS consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered a stroke, head/brain injury, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction., The system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the OT and PT can make objective follow up and reports on their patients progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

The Tutor System Helps Create Greater Life Satisfaction During Physiotherapy After SCI

2011-12-27T06:55:00.001-08:00

A study in DISABILITY and REHABILITATION in the December 2011 issue discusses a study of the life satisfaction level of persons who had suffered a spinal cord injury. This study took place during the 5 years following discharge from a rehabilitation facility.
Slight increases in life satisfaction were reported from two to five years post-discharge but no changes in mean life satisfaction ratings were found between discharge and two years later.
The significant determinants of a positive course of life satisfaction after discharge were high functional independence, low pain, high everyday social support, and high self-efficacy were .
Since the TUTORS–HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR– are patient controlled for active rehabilitation exercises the satisfaction level of progress is higher than if physical therapy is only administered in the standard way.
Occupational therapists use the TUTOR system as a manual therapy tool to help them with their rehabilitative work.
The TUTOR system has shown much success in rehabilitation of joint movement. The newly developed TUTORS consist of ergonomic wearable devices. The HANDTUTOR is a glove for hand therapy and the ARMTUTOR is an arm brace for elbow and shoulder rehabilitation. The system is indicated for patients who have suffered a stroke, head/brain injury, SCI, CP, MS, Parkinson’s disease and other mobility restraining illnesses. It is used by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in rehabilitation centers, private clinics and the home where it can be supported by telerehabilitation. It is designed for those who have head, trunk, upper and lower extremity movement dysfunction.
The system consists of motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. The dedicated rehabilitation software allows the physical and occupational therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the OT and PT can make objective follow up reports on their patients progress. Rehabilitation aims to optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTORS are certified by the FDA and CE See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

LegTutor Complements New Knee Replacement Surgery

2011-12-27T01:29:00.000-08:00

A new robotic surgeon has been performing operations with astounding results, cutting the knee replacement surgery recovery time in patients down drastically. Patients are checking themselves into the OR, undergoing the surgery and leaving on the same day. Some already walking out of the doors only with the aid of a cane.
Rio the robot has been completing knee replacement surgeries while under the supervision of skilled human surgeons in many hospitals across the United States. Prior to the surgery, a CT scan gives the doctors a 3D view of the knee. What makes the surgery easier and more precise are computer sensors that show doctors exactly where the knee is. Sensors keep running during the knee surgery updating the data in real time. Rio tracks the entire operation to ensure pinpoint accuracy throughout. The entire procedure is mapped before the first incision is made.
Rio, the robot, does the cutting to completely eliminate human error. The new knee is added once the “bad” parts of the knee are removed. The patient is stitched up and after a few hours of recovery the patient is already well underway with the aid of a physical therapist. One man in an Indiana hospital was walking around on his new knee with a cane after 6 hours.
Physicians believe the addition of the robotic surgeon will revolutionize knee surgery in future years. Patients receiving the procedure don’t even need general anesthesia; an epidural is enough to dull pain throughout the surgery. Patients who are looking for quick pain relief are optimistic that knee replacement surgery recovery will be greatly reduced because of the robo-doctors.
More traditional knee replacement surgery recovery periods may range from several weeks to many months, with a long period of physical therapy. However that physical therapy can be complemented by the LEGTUTOR which can complement the new surgery technique.
The LEGTUTOR system is a key component of physical therapy after total knee replacement. The LEGTUTOR is an ergonomic wearable leg brace accompanied with dedicated rehabilitation software. The LEGTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. This means that the LEGTUTOR system allows the physical therapist to prescribe a leg rehabilitation program customized to the patient’s knee and hip movement ability at their stage of rehabilitation. The LEGTUTOR uses biofeedback to keep the patient motivated to do the exercise practice with the exercises designed in the form of challenging games that are suitable for a wide variety of other neurological and orthopedic injury and disease as well as post trauma and orthopedic surgery.
The LEGTUTOR is also used by physical and occupational therapists in combination with the HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR for upper and lower extremity rehabilitation. The TUTOR system is used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and has full FDA and CE certification. It is designed for children and adults and can be used at home supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Shoulder Therapy for Athletes Enhanced By ArmTutor

2011-12-26T09:52:00.001-08:00

The conclusion of a study by Dr. Thomas Stein et al which was published in the November 2011 issue of ”The American Journal of Sports Medicine” stated that athletes’ shoulder stabilization usually results in prolonged rehabilitation depending on the functional demand of the performed shoulder-dependent sport, according to the specific shoulder sport score systems.
The ARMTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder as well as the elbow and wrist or upper extremity. The TUTOR system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. It allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations which include speed, passive and active range of motion and a motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows physical and occupational therapists (OT) (PT) to customize the right exercise parameters according to the patient’s movement ability and then report on the patient’s exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise practice by using various games which are set at a patient customized level and with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injury and disease such as Parkinson’s, CP, MS, Brain and Spinal cord injuries and others..
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatment. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Overall. controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired and compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better performance of functional tasks.
The Arm Tutor and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics. They can also be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information….

Physiotherapy That Includes the ArmTutor Improves Chances of Recovery

2011-12-26T03:51:00.000-08:00

In an article in ORTHOPEDICS AND TRAUMA Dec. 2011 Drs. Adam Rumian,Duncan Coffey,Simon Fogerty and Roger Hackney discuss shoulder dislocation.
The shoulder is known to be the most frequently dislocated joint in the human body. In order to relieve pain and reduce the risk of complications it is necessary to promptly reduce the dislocation which should be performed as soon as possible in the emergency department but, in the case of a fracture, in the operating theatre. Non-surgical treatment is the conventional method of management after a successful closed reduction. It involves immobilization of the affected shoulder for up to 6 weeks in conjunction with, or followed by, physiotherapy. Primary arthroscopic stabilization significantly reduces the rate of recurrent instability at young ages.
The ARMTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. So early in recovery from shoulder surgery the occupational and physical therapist will work on improving range of motion and accuracy and speed of movements as well as muscle strength. The exercises are designed in the form of challenging games that are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injuries and disease.
The TUTOR system, which includes the HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR, is currently in use in leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and clinics. The TUTOR system is fully certified by the FDA and CE and can be used by children as well as adults.
See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

ArmTutor May Be Just the Right Therapy Tool to Help Tyler

2011-12-26T01:13:00.001-08:00

Tyler Harrell, 7, will have surgery to repair nerve damage to his arm on January 7.
Unable to dress or bathe himself Tyler wears a brace around his upper body and left shoulder in order to keep his shoulder in place. He wears braces on his legs to keep him stable enough to walk.
Despite doctors’ predictions four years ago that he would never lead a normal life Tyler has a chance to do so.
Tyler has a chance to regain some independence through a muscle transfer surgery by a specialist in Houston, Texas.
On July 14, 2007, Tyler and his family were traveling home from Lake Eufaula. The family’s car lost control after the boat it was hauling fish-tailed. The vehicle flipped at least several times.
Tyler wasn’t breathing when his father found him.
Tyler spent two weeks at Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Ala. before he was transferred to Children’s Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. He was in a coma for four months.
The family was told Tyler would be a vegetable due to the traumatic brain injury he sustained, however he slowly came out of the coma. Still, they were told Tyler would likely never walk or have a normal life.
He was like a backwards seat, his little body was so twisted.
The brain injury damaged the nerves that control his arms and legs and his left arm was left unusable. At 4 he had his first surgery – a tendon transfer operation which gave Tyler use of his left hand and feeling in the arm, but without the use of the arm.
There is hope that Tyler can regain use of his left arm with the muscle transfer surgery at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Texas. A specialist with the Texas Nerve and Paralysis Institute will perform the surgery.
Despite the January surgery there may be other surgeries necessary to repair Tyler’s right arm, which is bent at the elbow.
Botox injections are needed every 3 months to relax his tensed muscles just so he can walk.Therapy has been helpful to Tyler.
When Tyler begins to use the ARMTUTOR he will not only enjoy its use but will be able to make progress in using his affected limbs.
The ARMTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder and elbow and wrist or upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system allows for interactive rehabilitation exercise and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. This quantitative data allows Physical and occupational therapists (OT) (PT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patients movement ability and report on the patients exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice through the use of various games which are at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injury and diseases.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the occupational or physical therapist and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated and/or a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Overall. controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient developing an undesired and compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better performance of functional tasks.
The Arm Tutor and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information….

ArmTutor Maximizes Recovery After Boxer’s Surgery

2011-12-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

Even though it was said that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira wouldn’t require surgery for a broken arm which he suffered against Frank Mir at UFC 140, he has since undergone surgery to repair the injury and could return to the UFC in as soon as six months.
Mr. Nogueira suffered a complex fracture of his right humerus. Unfortunately, the radial nerve (a power and sensation nerve leading to the hand) was injured by the event. The nerve was in the area of the fracture and the bone was pinching the nerve. He little strength in his hand and no strength in his thumb before the surgery.
The surgery involved taking out the nerve and then the fracture site was treated. The fracture was fixed with a plate and 16 screws and within less than 12 hours the function returned to his hand and the bone was fixed. The doctors said that they were anticipating initiating range of motion exercises immediately and will start strengthening the arm in the next month. If everything goes well he will begin full training in the next several months and should be 100% ready for competition fighting in about six months or less. We anticipate a complete recovery.
The ARMTUTOR system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the shoulder, elbow, wrist or upper extremity. The system includes an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated physical rehabilitation software. The ARMTUTOR system provides interactive rehabilitation exercises and a range of biomechanical evaluations including speed, passive and active range of motion as well as motion analysis of the upper extremity.
This quantitative data allows physical and occupational therapists (PT) (OT) to customize the right exercise parameters to the patients movement ability and report on the patients exercise progress. The ARMTUTOR rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled and repetitive exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level together with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The rehabilitation games are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injury and disease.
The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise at a customized difficulty level. This level is set by the OT or PT and encourages the patient to do intensive repetitive exercise practice.
The ARMTUTOR allows for isolated as well as a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatments. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and also precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Overall. controlled exercise of multijoints within a normal movement pattern will prevent the patient from developing an undesired and compensatory joint movement pattern and this will ensure better performance of functional tasks.
The ARMTUTOR and its sister devices (LEGTUTOR, HANDTUTOR, 3DTUTOR are used wordwide in hospitals and clinics. They can be used at home through telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information

Increasing Numbers of Patients With Life Altering Events Can be Helped by the Tutor System

2011-12-25T05:39:00.000-08:00

Many hundreds of thousands of patients recovering from life-altering events which includes strokes ( 700,000 Americans annually), heart attacks (1.1 million a year), sports injuries and car crashes endure some form of physical therapy. Other patients benefit from physical therapy for pain relief, balance problems, joint problems, arthritis, post-surgical conditioning and strengthening, fitness, training, and wellness. More patients receive therapy after Brain/Spinal cord, Radial and Ulnar nerve and Brachial Plexus Injuries. Still more benefit from physical therapy who have Parkinson’s disease, CP and MS.
Most therapies demand tremendous effort from the patient. Often, patients are attempting to relearn simple tasks such as walking, dressing and feeding oneself. Skills, once taken for granted, now seem very difficult.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. This training is tailored and customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice. The HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, ARMTUTOR and 3DTUTOR is now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with the TUTORS being used in clinics and in their home. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist offering tele-rehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.

Tutor System Becoming Increasingly Important in Brain Injury Rehabilitation

2011-12-25T03:46:00.001-08:00

As reported in MED PAGE TODAY the tragic toll from traumatic brain injury continues to climb among athletes who routinely hit their heads — or use them as weapons — during play on the field or fights on the rink.
All the more reason to have the best methods to assist the athletes to recover their normal mobility. Doing that requires having the best equipment.
The newly developed HandTutor and its sister devices (ArmTutor, LegTutor, 3DTutor) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical therapy for interactive rehabilitation exercise. These innovative devices implement an impairment based program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. These exercises are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient‘s performance. This training is tailored and customized by the occupational and physical therapist to ensure that the patient stays motivated to do intensive repetitive manual therapy and exercise practice. The HandTutor, LegTutor, ArmTutor and 3DTutor is now part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals with the Tutors being used in clinics and in home care. Home care patients can be supported by the occupational and physical therapist offering tele-rehabilitation. See www.HandTutor.com for more information.

Rehabilitation Center That Includes the Tutor System Successful

2011-12-25T02:42:00.001-08:00

Robert Guttersohn writing for vindy.com on December 24, 2011 tells about when Walt Sokac was a high school athlete the trainer assigned to his team was a fellow student who only knew how to tape ankles after an injury.
Sokac is now the director of rehabilitation for the Sharon Regional Health System out of Pennsylvania, where technology maps the recovery of athletes from injury and their return to the court or field.
But for many of the nearby valleys’ high-school, college and free-time athletes, the injury road ends in Hubbard at the health system’s Diagnostic and Specialty Center.
“It’s kind of a nonclinical atmosphere,” according to Ed Newmeyer, the director of marketing and community relations, during a recent visit to the Hubbard facility.
The center features digital X-rays, cardiac stress tests and ultrasound testing. But the most important aspect is a sports rehabilitation center.
It also has an artificial-turf field with football-field lines painted on it. It also has a half basketball court and hoop.
Of course a good rehabilitation center will feature the top tools and methods to restore normal mobility to athlete’s injured limbs.
Such devices will feature the Tutor system. The HandTutor, ArmTutor, LegTutor and 3DTutor have been designed to optimize sensory and cognitive performance to allow the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks and improve their quality of life.
For example the ArmTutor™ and HandTutor system has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable glove and arm brace together with dedicated rehabilitation software. The ArmTutor™ and HandTutor system allow the physical and occupational therapist to report on and evaluate the patients functional rehabilitation progress. This allows the OT and PT to prescribe the right customized and motivating intensive exercise practice which is the cornerstone to manual rehabilitation therapy. Intensive repetition of movement is achieved through challenging games set to the patients movement ability. The Tutor system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks. Telerehabilitation allows the recovering patient to continue his physical therapy at home.See www.HandTutor.com for more information.

LegTutor Complements Aquatic Therapy for Knee and Hip Replacement Patients

2011-12-23T03:27:00.000-08:00

Nancy Walsh, Staff Writer for MedPage Today writes in an article on December 22, 2011 which is reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of MedicineHarvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner.
Aquatic therapy leads to better physical function in patients having total knee replacement, although it is not beneficial in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty, according to a German study.
Aquatic therapy is popular in Europe for patients undergoing joint replacement. It is thought to help patients regain balance and muscle strength.
The researchers noted that many factors can influence the quality of life following joint replacement, including patient age and sex none of which can be altered by caregivers.
Therefore, this is one of the few studies demonstrating a clinically important effect on the health-related quality of life by a factor that can be influenced by healthcare professionals.
Many patients are less than satisfied with the results after knee replacement allowing for further benefit with aquatic rehabilitation.
Further research is warranted to identify the optimal time frame for the start of aquatic therapy in order to exploit the potential of aquatic therapy for improving clinical outcome.
For hip replacement early aquatic therapy should be avoided.
In addition, the study did not compare early or late aquatic therapy with no aquatic therapy, because in Germany patients expect this during rehabilitation after joint replacement.
The LegTutor has been developed to facilitate evaluation and treatment of the lower extremity including isolated and combined hip and knee movements.
The LegTutor is actually an ergonomic wearable leg brace connected to dedicated rehabilitation software. The LegTutor™ rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time and accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. This means that the LegTutor™ system allows the physical therapist to prescribe a leg rehabilitation program customized to the patient’s knee and hip movement ability at their stage of rehabilitation. The LegTutor uses biofeedback to keep the patient motivated to do the exercise practice with the exercises designed in the form of challenging games that are suitable for a wide variety of other neurological and orthopedic injury and disease as well as post trauma and orthopedic surgery. The LegTutor™ and its co devices (HandTutor, ArmTutor, 3DTutor) is also used by physical and occupational therapists for upper and lower extremity rehabilitation. The Tutor system is used by many leading rehabilitation centers worldwide and has full FDA and CE certification. It is designed for children and adults and can be used at home supported by telerehabilitation. See www.HandTutor.com for more information.