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Virtual Reality and Robotics Help Stroke Patients Recover
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By Greg Kozol For many stroke patients, impaired living is their new reality. Virtual reality can help them get back to normal. That’s in part the work of UNO Assistant Professor Mukul Mukherjee in the Biomechanics Research Building. There, Mukherjee uses virtual reality and robotics to help stroke patients retrain their brains and regain the use of their arms and hands. Such advanced technology helps improve basic skills, such as reaching for an object or picking up cups on a tray — the types of everyday tasks that can seem daunting after the brain damage caused by stroke. “You are tapping into that recovery process,” says Mukherjee, a professor who works with a team of researchers in the Biomechanics Research Building. “Lower limbs recover faster. The tongue is the last to recover.” Patients use what Mukherjee refers to as an upper-limb robot to move a computer mouse between two points. Patients encounter more force as they try to move it farther. “Patients learn this in a destabilizing environment,” he says. “It takes time. We have to look for ways to accelerate that recovery.” Mukherjee can individualize the therapy to make it look as if a patient’s hand movements are worse than they are in reality. This can boost the recovery process as patients try to overcome their seemingly diminished abilities. “What I do is I play around with threshold perception to make it look like they are making a bigger error than they are making,” he says. “The whole idea is to get them to do something about their problem. When you intervene you are helping them recover.” Other studies use robotics to train patients to use their arm movements in a more unpredictable environment. The idea is to mimic everyday movements that often are closer to chaotic than robotic patterns. “When they get back to normal patterns, they would be close to what they see in a normal environment,” Mukherjee says. Other research has looked at acupuncture and its benefits in improving muscle function for stroke patients. Mukherjee said much of his recent work has centered on lower-limb movement for stroke patients. He studies how virtual reality helps stroke patients with posture and gait as they learn how to walk. He notes that his research on lower and upper-limb rehabilitation can benefit Alzheimer’s patients and veterans who have experienced traumatic brain injuries, in addition to those recovering from stroke.
Go to YouTube to see how Smarter Every Day’s Destin Sandlin mastered a backward bike. Search “Backwards Brain in the UNO Assistant Professor Mukul Mukherjee Biomechanics Research Building. Bicycle - Smarter Every Day 133”
A long-term goal is to get some of the robotics and virtual reality technology to the point where patients can undergo rehabilitation at home with small sensors and computers. As it stands, patients doing upper-limb rehabilitation are monitored while sitting in a chair. “Where I see my studies going is to make it as cheap and affordable as possible,” Mukherjee says. “We can get the data from home.”