Medical Design Briefs - February 2021 - 35

investigator of the trial and a pioneer in
noninvasive BMI systems. But robotassisted exercise doesn't generally engage the user, which is critical for taking
advantage of the brain's plasticity to
allow patients to relearn movement.
" This project ensures the brain is
engaged, " he says. " We know that if the
arm is moving, it's because they are commanding it to move. That's a very powerful concept. "
By testing the subjects over a period of
time before the trial began, researchers
were able to ensure that any changes or
improvements were due to the intervention. In addition to better arm movement, the researchers reported that the
subjects also showed improvements in
using their hands.
" This is a novel way to measure what
is going on in the brain in response to
therapeutic intervention, " says Dr.
Gerard Francisco, professor and chair
of physical medicine and rehabilitation at McGovern Medical School at
The University of Texas Health
Science Center at Houston and coprincipal investigator. " This study suggested that certain types of interven-

Chronic Upper-limb
Impairment after Stroke

Brain-Exoskeleton Therapy
for 4 Weeks

Significantly Improved
Arm and Hand Movements

MRCP
(0.1- 1Hz)
Move
Rest

Clinical Outcomes
Post-therapy
Baseline
Fugl-Meyer
Upper Ext.

ARAT
Normal

A clinical trial found that stroke survivors gained clinically significant arm movement and control by
using an external robotic device powered by the patients' own brains.

tion, in this case using the upper
robot, can trigger certain parts of
brain to develop the intention to
move. In the future, this means we can
augment existing therapy programs by
paying more attention to the importance of engaging certain parts of the
brain that can magnify the response to
therapy. "

The trial was conducted at TIRR
Memorial Hermann, where Francisco
serves as chief medical officer and director of the NeuroRecovery Research
Center. The project was a collaboration
between University of Houston,
UTHealth, TIRR Memorial Hermann,
Houston Methodist Research Institute,
and Rice University.

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Medical Design Briefs - February 2021

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