Robotic therapy helps stroke patients regain function
Stroke patients who received robot-assisted therapy were able to regain some ability to use their arms, even if the stroke had occurred years earlier, according to a study published April 16 in the online issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.The study, which examined the effectiveness of a class of robotic devices developed at MIT, found that in chronic stroke survivors, robot-assisted therapy led to modest improvements in upper-body motor function and quality of life six months after active therapy was completed; these improvements were significant when compared with a group of stroke patients who received the traditional treatment. Moreover, the robotic therapy — which involves a more intense regimen of activity than traditional stroke therapy — did not increase total health-care costs per stroke patient, and could make intensive therapy available to more people, say the researchers who led the study.The study results also challenge the notion that physical...