A Stroke Rehabilitation Breakthrough to Restore Arm Movement
myomo Intelligent Stroke Rehab Arm Brace Spotlight
Nationally, Northeast Senior Health pioneers use of Myomo neuro-robotic arm brace in home health care, skilled nursing facilities
Northeast HomeCare is the first home care agency to implement Myomo and Ledgewood and Seacoast are the only skilled nursing facilities to make the technology available. Ten rehabilitation therapists have been certified to use the Myomo system.
The Myomo e100 Neuro-Robotic System™ enables brain-injured patients to restore movement of paralyzed arms through a patented closed feedback learning mechanism. The robotic arm brace, based on technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), senses muscle signals that indicate deliberate intention to move; and then provides electronically-assisted movement. The process engages both neurological and motor pathways, reinforcing brain-to-body feedback, in such a way that motor function can be re-learned and restored.
Steve Kelly, CEO at Myomo, explains, "Our brains have the capacity to heal. Myomo's neurorobotic technology is a platform for enabling that healing process. For stroke patients, or those who have experienced neurological episodes that leave them paralyzed, the ability to return to routine daily activities is life-changing."
Northeast Senior Health/Myomo Partnership Case Studies One patient, a 58-year-old stroke victim, could not move his paralyzed arm before using Myomo due to weakness and pain. After training with this neuro-robotic device he is able to move his hand from his lap to his mouth without the assistance of any device or person. According to Michele Devlin, physical therapist for Northeast HomeCare, his pain is greatly reduced and he can use the affected arm to support some of his body weight. "It's very hard as a therapist to know how much help to give. But Myomo knows how to give just enough. And the repetitious movement helps to reestablish the neuro-pathways that were damaged by the stroke. I've never seen anything like it."
Mainstream medical knowledge previously asserted that stroke victims had maximized their recovery within the first six months following the episode. Myomo technology has been effective in patients up to 20 years after the stroke.
One example of this is a 66-year-old married woman who suffered a stroke five years ago following surgery and, in using the Myomo, is now able to fully open her right hand, and straighten her elbow. She, like the first patient, is also able to now bring her hand to her mouth.
"The Myomo technology opens up a whole new window of recovery and support to patients who may have lost hope," said Jim Dunne, president and CEO of Northeast Senior Health. "In keeping with Northeast Senior Health’s mission to deliver the latest and most innovative technologies and services to patients on the North Shore, our partnership with Myomo will be important as we continue to help victims of stroke and other neurological conditions recover effectively, both at home and in inpatient settings."
About Northeast Senior Health
Northeast Senior Health is the North Shore’s largest and most comprehensive elder services continuum, and an affiliate of both Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals. Northeast Senior Health is comprised of Beverly Hospital Lifeline, NortheastLink, the Center for Healthy Aging, North Shore PRN, Northeast HomeCare, Spectrum Adult Day Health Program, The Herrick House, Ledgewood Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center and Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
About Myomo
Myomo develops neuro-robotic technology that helps paralyzed people regain use of their arms. For more information, visit www.myomo.com.
" The Myomo technology opens up a whole new window of recovery and support to patients who may have lost hope.
In keeping with Northeast Senior Health’s mission to deliver the latest and most innovative technologies and services to patients on the North Shore, our partnership with Myomo will be important as we continue to help victims of stroke and other neurological conditions recover effectively, both at home and in inpatient settings.
"
—Jim Dunne, president and CEO of Northeast Senior Health
Manuel Machado's father taught him to play the guitar when he was a young boy growing up in the Azores Islands of Portugal. When he moved to the United States in 1984, he quickly connected with the Portuguese communities in Fall River and Peabody, where he lives. The band he joined played traditional Portuguese folk music, and they stayed very busy.
"Every weekend, he would play somewhere," says his daughter Maria Munroe. "He would sometimes come home at 4 a.m."
But all that changed on May 3, 2009, when her father, at the relatively young age of 58, suffered a stroke and lost the use of his left arm and leg. He spent a month in the hospital and then two months at Ledgewood Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, in Beverly, where he was the fi rst patient to benefit from a remarkable new neuro-robotic technology designed by MIT engineers to help stroke patients recover movement.
Called Myomo® — for "my own motion" — this cutting-edge device helps patients relearn how to move severely weak or partially paralyzed limbs. (Currently available only for arms, it is in development for both legs and hands.)
Leading The Way
"You place the brace on his arm, and there is a sensor that measures the tension in his bicep," explains physical therapist Michele Devlin, who provided home-based Myomo treatments to Mr. Machado for six weeks after he was discharged, through Northeast HomeCare. "It figures out just how much assistance to give him in bending his arm. If he has very little power, it gives him more assistance. If he has more power, it gives less."
Devlin says this device — which is so new that Ledgewood and Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Gloucester, are the first skilled nursing facilities in the nation to implement Myomo, and Northeast HomeCare is the first home care agency nationwide to do so — helps reduce the swelling and pain that are common after a stroke, and helps patients maintain a range of motion. "It’s very hard as a therapist to know how much help to give," she says. "But Myomo knows how to give just enough. And the repetitious movement helps to re-establish the neuro-pathways that were damaged by the stroke. I’ve never seen anything like it."
In his at-home therapy session, Mr. Machado is able to bend his arm repeatedly, bringing his hand to his collarbone and back down. He grips his cane horizontally with both hands, and lifts it several times to his chin and back down. His daughter says he has come a long way from the beginning of his recovery, when he had no function in his left arm at all. "He loves the Myomo," says Maria.
Mr. Machado is working toward re-establishing his grip on the neck of his guitar. It is a goal that he finds both motivating and emotionally charged. But his daughter — herself a cancer survivor and author of a book about her experiences called "It Gets Better” — helps him to focus on the future. “It's important to be positive," she says. "He’s got lots of friends and family, and every day, we see changes in him. Every day, he gets a little better."
"Every weekend, he would play somewhere," says his daughter Maria Munroe. "He would sometimes come home at 4 a.m."
But all that changed on May 3, 2009, when her father, at the relatively young age of 58, suffered a stroke and lost the use of his left arm and leg. He spent a month in the hospital and then two months at Ledgewood Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, in Beverly, where he was the fi rst patient to benefit from a remarkable new neuro-robotic technology designed by MIT engineers to help stroke patients recover movement.
Called Myomo® — for "my own motion" — this cutting-edge device helps patients relearn how to move severely weak or partially paralyzed limbs. (Currently available only for arms, it is in development for both legs and hands.)
Leading The Way
"You place the brace on his arm, and there is a sensor that measures the tension in his bicep," explains physical therapist Michele Devlin, who provided home-based Myomo treatments to Mr. Machado for six weeks after he was discharged, through Northeast HomeCare. "It figures out just how much assistance to give him in bending his arm. If he has very little power, it gives him more assistance. If he has more power, it gives less."
Devlin says this device — which is so new that Ledgewood and Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Gloucester, are the first skilled nursing facilities in the nation to implement Myomo, and Northeast HomeCare is the first home care agency nationwide to do so — helps reduce the swelling and pain that are common after a stroke, and helps patients maintain a range of motion. "It’s very hard as a therapist to know how much help to give," she says. "But Myomo knows how to give just enough. And the repetitious movement helps to re-establish the neuro-pathways that were damaged by the stroke. I’ve never seen anything like it."
In his at-home therapy session, Mr. Machado is able to bend his arm repeatedly, bringing his hand to his collarbone and back down. He grips his cane horizontally with both hands, and lifts it several times to his chin and back down. His daughter says he has come a long way from the beginning of his recovery, when he had no function in his left arm at all. "He loves the Myomo," says Maria.
Mr. Machado is working toward re-establishing his grip on the neck of his guitar. It is a goal that he finds both motivating and emotionally charged. But his daughter — herself a cancer survivor and author of a book about her experiences called "It Gets Better” — helps him to focus on the future. “It's important to be positive," she says. "He’s got lots of friends and family, and every day, we see changes in him. Every day, he gets a little better."
Myomo, Inc.
One Broadway, 14th Floor,
Cambridge, MA 02142
phone: 1-617-996-9058
toll-free: 1-877-736-9666
One Broadway, 14th Floor,
Cambridge, MA 02142
phone: 1-617-996-9058
toll-free: 1-877-736-9666
Copyright © 2010 Myomo, Inc.
All rights reserved. MYOMO and e100
NeuroRobtic System are trademarks
in registration of Myomo, Inc.
The Myomo, Inc. e100 NeuroRobotic
System is patent pending.
All rights reserved. MYOMO and e100
NeuroRobtic System are trademarks
in registration of Myomo, Inc.
The Myomo, Inc. e100 NeuroRobotic
System is patent pending.
