HOWARD lends a hand

A robotic therapy device may help people regain strength and normal use of affected hands long after a stroke, according to a University of California, Irvine study.

Stroke patients with impaired hand use reported improved ability to grasp and release objects after therapy sessions using the Hand-Wrist Assisting Robotic Device (HOWARD). Each patient had at least moderate residual weakness and reduced function of the right hand, although the affected hands were neither totally paralysed nor unable to feel.

‘Most spontaneous improvement in function occurs in the first three months after a stroke, and after that things tend to plateau,’ said Dr. Steven C. Cramer, senior author of the study and associate professor in neurology, anatomy and neurobiology at UCI. ‘Robot-assisted therapy may help rewire the brain and make weak limbs move better long afterwards.’

Previously, robotic devices have improved post-stroke shoulder and leg function. Cramer said this study is one of the first attempts to specifically aid hand function.